Google Android extends Australian market share lead over Apple despite iPhone 6 release

Google’s Android operating system extended its market share lead over Apple in the September quarter, despite the launch of the iPhone 6, according to figures released overnight by Kantar Worldpanel.

Android devices now account for 58.1% of all Australian smartphones, up from 55.6% a year earlier, while Apple increased slightly from 32.6% to 34.7%, and Windows slipped from 9.3% to 6.2%.

In terms of international market share, Android has now established a significant lead in every major smartphone market globally over Apple, including markets where Apple once held a clear majority, such as the US and Japan.

In the US, Android leads Apple 61.8% to 32.6%, in China 83.4% to 15.2%, in Japan 64.5% to 31.3%, in the UK 58.2% to 31%, in Germany 79.2% to 11.8%, and France 72.7% to 15.4%.

The figures show percentage point growth in all major markets for both iOS and Android at the expense of other platforms, except for Japan and the US, where Apple slipped.

Apple’s weakest European markets are Italy, where its 10.4% market share sees it trailing both Android on 71.8% and Windows on 15.2%, as well as Spain, where Apple has just 6.3% of the market compared to 90.4% for Android.

Apple’s market position is particularly weak across the major Latin American markets.

In Argentina, Apple claims a miniscule 0.2% of the market, trailing Android (86%), Windows (7.9%) and even BlackBerry (3.6%).

Meanwhile in Brazil it claims 5.2% of the market, compared to 89.1% for Android. In Mexico, it came fourth with just 2.5% of the market, behind Android (84.4%), Windows (6.4%) and BlackBerry (4%).

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