Apple, whose iPhone was taken on by carriers because it drove people into their stores as opposed to delivering profits, has seen a massive plunge in demand for their Smartphone as new Android devices are launched in Australia.
According to new research Apple share of the smartphone market has fallen from 30.6 per cent to 18.3 per cent in a year. At the same time, Android sales rose from 10.7 per cent to 45.2 per cent.
At a Telstra store yesterday SmartHouse showed several people an iPhone and a new large screen Samsung and HTC phone. 7 out of 10 said that they prefered the larger screen and the “lighter” feel of the Android devices.
The move could be good news for carriers like Telstra, Optus and Vodafone who are witnessing big demand for Android Smartphones as brands such as Samsung, Motorola and HTC launch new Android models. According to Telstra executives, the network makes “significantly more money” selling an Android device than an Apple iPhone because of margin squeeze by Apple.
According to the Kantar Worldpanel ComTech research Android is now the top OS in several Countries including Australia.
In contract research group IDC is saying that Apple became the No. 1 mobile phone vendor in Australia for the first time in Q1, with nearly one third market share.
They said that in the smartphone market, Apple’s iOS now holds close to 40 percent market share, up almost 10 percent on Q4 last year, according to IDC’s Mobile Device Tracker.
Android was in second place with nearly 30 percent of the market, while Nokia’s Symbian system plunged to third with 22 percent, IDC said.
IDC telecoms analyst Mark Novosel predicts Apple will experience a dip in Q3 as the market eases in preparation for an expected new iPhone model in Q4.
Meanwhile he says the wide range of Android flagships launching in Q2 and Q3 should see strong growth for the Google system. And in Q4, the price of Android flagships will be cut in a bid to lure Christmas shoppers and enable them to better compete with the expected new iPhone.
ComTech said that three-quarters of Android’s sales come from people upgrading from an older phone; just 1.4 per cent of Android sales are from former iPhone owners. More than eight out of ten BlackBerry purchasers, however, were upgrading from a feature phone to their first smartphone. Although there are now more iPhones in use, they represent a smaller proportion of sales.
In the same period Nokia fell 22 per cent, from 32.7 per cent to 10.7 per cent, while Windows Phone, despite a significant marketing push behind new technology, halved from 5.6 per cent to 2.8 per cent.
Global Consumer Insight Director, Dominic Sunnebo said “We are yet to see any real signs of consumers switching between Android and Apple. Our data shows that Apple and Android’s customers are intensely loyal when choosing their upgrade.”
He added that “One reason for this is the investment consumers make in their device through apps. This investment is then lost if they want to choose a different OS as the apps are non-transferable.”
In the future, Sunnebo suggested that competition will be tighter. “A concern for brands targeting the lower end of the market is that once consumers have tried a smartphone they are prepared to spend more on their next device and could turn to other brands,” he said. “With more and more consumers buying smartphones the future for middle-to-high-end smartphones is set to become ever more competitive.”
