Android Wins 65% Of US Market Share With Help From Galaxy S6 Sales

Using smartphone sales from March, April and May of this year, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech reports Android’s US market share is up 2.8 percent, with Android now owning 64.9 percent of the market.

Kantar says sales of Samsung’s Galaxy S6 has helped drive Android’s success.

“The first full month of sales of the Galaxy S6 allowed Samsung to regain the market lead in the US and grow its share of Android sales from 52% in the three months ending in April to 55% for the three months ending in May,” said Kantar chief of research Carolina Milanesi.

[pullquote]The first full month of sales of the Galaxy S6 allowed Samsung to regain the market lead.[/pullquote]

According to Kantar’s data, Samsung’s S6 was the third best-selling smartphone in the US, followed by the iPhone 6 and the S6’s predecessor the Galaxy S5. Kantar also gives credit to LG for helping raise Android’s market share and slowing iOS sales, claiming LG has nearly doubled its share of the US smartphone market year-over-year.

Android sales didn’t perform as strongly in Europe. For Europe’s “big five” – Great Britain , Germany, France, Spain and Italy – Android sales dropped 2.9 percentage points year-over-year, while the iPhone 6 proved to be the favorite.

[blockquote cite = “Dominic Sunnebo, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech”]Britain remains the iOS stronghold, forcing Android vendors to rely more on winning customers from Apple than from other Android players.[/blockquote]

Kantar reports only five-percent of the customers Android gained in Europe came from Apple this year. During the same time period last year, eleven-percent of Android buyers came from Apple – more than double this year’s numbers.

Apple also leads in China, but is in a close race with Huawei and Xiamio. Kantar says the three companies are within .5 percentage points of one another in terms of market share.

“China has become the most interesting market for mobile, both in terms of the importance it plays in a vendor’s success, and its role as an incubator of new brands that quickly gain global status,” said Milanesi.