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iPhone 11 sales drive Apple rebound as Samsung sees strong growth in Europe

By Joshua Swingle

Published: Oct 23, 2019, 9:54 AM

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iPhone 11 sales drive Apple rebound as Samsung sees strong growth in Europe

The iPhone 11 is performing so well that it’s close to beating Apple’s expectations. Now, data published by Kantar indicates these higher sales are boosting the company’s market share in many markets.

The iPhone 11 is driving Apple's sales in Europe, Australia, and Japan

During the third quarter of 2019, which started in June and ended in September, Apple accounted for an impressive 18.9% of all smartphone shipments across the five major European markets – the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. This figure is up from 16.3% just one year earlier and is largely down to the success of the iPhone 11 series.

Apple’s latest flagships accounted for 7.4% of all European iPhone sales throughout the three months despite being on sale for just eleven days. The cheaper iPhone 11 is reportedly leading in terms of volume but Kantar claims the iPhone 11 Pro series isn’t that far behind.

Other markets in which Apple experienced strong growth last quarter include Australia, where the company saw its market share rise from 35.5% to 39.6%, and Japan, where the popularity of the iPhone 11 lineup helped catapult the brand’s market share to 39.9% from just 29.6% a year earlier.

Reports suggest the iPhone 11 has also been performing quite well in China but it clearly wasn’t enough to fend off the competition last quarter because Apple’s market share dropped from 18.9% to 17.6%. Similarly, US sales are reportedly up – the new models accounted for 10.2% of all sales – but strong competition still pushed the iPhone’s share to 36.1% from 38.1% twelve months earlier.

Samsung's is the fastest growing brand in Europe

Unlike iOS, Google’s Android operating system grew healthily in China over the summer months and finished the quarter with a market share of 82.4%, up from 80.8% twelve months earlier. Homegrown brands were the primary reason for this – they accounted for 79.3% of all sales – but Huawei and Honor undoubtedly led the way with a combined market share of 46.8%.

The Android ecosystem also saw its share in the US market increase by 1.8% to 63.6% during the same period, although Huawei had no role in this particular case. Kantar claims Samsung led the way with strong growth in the low to mid-range segments thanks to the Galaxy A10e and Galaxy A20, while Google’s Pixel 3a series and LG’s budget lineup also performed pretty well.

The market share of Android within the five major European markets decreased during the third quarter to 80.9% from 82.4% in 2018 but Samsung managed to defy odds by experiencing strong growth. The South Korean giant became the fastest growing brand in the region and saw its market share increase by a whopping 5.9% to 38.4%, its highest level in four years. According to the data provided by Kantar, Samsung’s success is largely down to the Galaxy Note 10 combined with the revamped Galaxy A series which has successfully challenged Xiaomi and Huawei. This lineup accounts for five of the top 10 best-selling phones and occupies the entire top 3 with the Galaxy A50, Galaxy A40, and Galaxy A20e.

Further information about Samsung’s global performance wasn’t provided and neither was any data about Huawei, Xiaomi, or any other Android manufacturers. Fortunately, we do know how the Android platform performed in Japan and Australia – the answer is pretty poorly. Over the course of the past three months, Android’s market share has dropped from almost 70% in Japan to just 59% while over in Australia the operating system powered 60% of smartphones, down from 64.3% in 2018.