More European Android Users Are Switching to iPhones

By Kamal Nayan - 07 May '15 02:55AM

More and more Android users are switching to Apple's latest iPhone, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in European countries, according to a new report from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. The iPhone's market share rose by 1.8 percentage points, while Android's slice slimmed down by 3.1 points, the report found.

The report noted that over the 2015's first quarter from January through March, Apple's share of the smartphone market grew in Europe's five biggest countries - France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain.

Meanwhile, Android's smartphone share among the big five European nations fell to 68.4 percent in the first quarter - dropping 3.1 points.

Undoubtedly, Android is leading across Europe but the new figures suggest that the iPhone is slowly catching up and has so far convinced significant number of users to make the switch.

"In the first quarter of 2015, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus continued to attract consumers across Europe, including users who previously owned an Android smartphone," Carolina Milanesi, chief of research at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, said in a press release. "On average, across Europe's big five countries during the first quarter, 32.4 percent of Apple's new customers switched to iOS from Android."

Last week, while discussing Apple's financial results for the first quarter of 2015, CEO Tim Cook had also mentioned that "we're seeing a higher rate of switchers than we've experienced in previous iPhone cycles."

"Thirty-five percent of consumers who bought an Android smartphone in 1Q15 said their decision was driven by receiving a good price on the phone," Dominic Sunnebo, business unit director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Europe, said. "Another 29 percent said that getting a good deal on the tariff/contract was a factor in their purchase."