Apple made half of UK smartphone sales in October

FLOGGER OF EXPENSIVE GADGETS Apple accounted for nearly half of smartphone sales in October as it launched the Iphone 4S, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel Com Tech.

The data show that in the 12 weeks of sales ended 30 October Apple increased its share of the UK smartphone OS market to 27.8 per cent. Meanwhile, in October when it launched the Iphone 4S, Apple took 43 per cent of smartphone sales, overtaking Android, which accounted for 35 per cent.

However, Android still had the most share over the 12 weeks, at 46 per cent compared with 34 per cent a year earlier. Symbian unsurprisingly saw the biggest drop, with its smartphone market share falling to four per cent from 14 per cent during the same period in 2010.

Smartphones made up 70 per cent of sales over the 12 weeks, and 44.8 per cent of the British population apparently now owns a smartphone.

Dominic Sunnebo, global consumer insight director said, "The October launch of the hugely anticipated iPhone 4S has catapulted Apple into second place among operating systems based on the last 12 weeks of sales. However, if you just look at the month of October, Apple took a whopping 42.8 [per cent] share of all smartphone sales, giving it a significant lead over Android (which accounted for 35 [per cent]) - a feat many thought was impossible."

It's clear that Apple's sales spike came because of the launch of its latest Iphone. When new data is reported on 22 December, we think it's likely to tell a very different story. µ