14 DAY TRIAL // Kantar Worldpanel reports that Android is losing points for the first time since 2013 as Apple has flooded the market with bigger screen options, causing former nay-sayers to switch to the iOS ecosystem.
Late last year, Apple introduced its first iPhones with screens larger than 4 inches, while one of the handsets boasts a considerably bigger display, measuring 5.5 inches on the diagonal, which essentially makes it what the tech sector calls a “phablet.”
iOS versus Android
Controversially re-tooled by Google response to the original iPhone’s underlying software, Android has rapidly become the dominant OS in the smartphone industry. It got there with the help of dozens of partnering vendors whose smartphones fought the iPhone, more-or-less copying features pioneered by Apple.
Android today has matured enough to pose serious problems to Apple, surpassing iOS in areas where Apple is reluctant to make changes. Nevertheless, Apple’s software remains the more stable and reliable choice for a more financially apt user base.
“Too popular for its own good”
Analysts at Kantar say Android fell by 2 percentage points in the U.S., 3 points across key territories in Europe, and a whopping 6.7 percentage points in the U.K. alone, all thanks to the introduction of the iPhone 6.
“The longer the new iPhone models are on the market the more their appeal will extend beyond Apple's loyal customers,” said Dominic Sunnebo, the strategic insight director at Kantar.
An analyst from another investment bank explains how things got to where they are. Neil Mawston, mobile analyst at Strategy Analytics, told CNBC that “Android fatigue is setting in. Android, rather like Symbian a few years ago, has become too popular for its own good.”
Adding insult to injury, Apple is rumored to be unleashing the iPhone 6S and the iPhone 7 this year, breaking what used to be a far more relaxed upgrade cycle.