Apple Leads UK Smartphone Manufacturer Market, While Android Strengthens Position as Top Operating System
London, UK, 17 December, 2012 -comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key mobile trends across the five leading European markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) during the three month average period ending October 2012. The study found that Spain has the highest smartphone penetration in Europe, with 63.2 percent of mobile phone users and also experienced the strongest growth with a 14.8 percentage point increase versus the prior year. In the UK, Apple remains the leading handset manufacturer, capturing 28 percent of the market, followed by Samsung with a 24 percent market share. Google’s Android operating system continues its strong lead in the platform market, accounting for 46.6 percent of the smartphone audience, whilst Apple holds 28 percent.
More than 6 in 10 British Mobile Users Own a Smartphone
The European smartphone audience has increased 35 percent in the past year, from 97.7 million in October 2011 to 131.5 million in October 2012. The current smartphone penetration in EU5 markets is 54.6 percent of mobile phone users, a 13 percentage point increase compared to same period last year. Spain had the highest smartphone penetration at 63.2 percent, followed by the UK with 62.3 percent and France with 51.4 percent. Spain posted the strongest growth in the past year with a 14.8 percentage point gain, followed by the UK with a14.2 percentage point increase.
| Smartphone Penetration (% of mobile phone users) in EU5 Countries 3 Month Average Ending Oct. 2012 vs. Oct. 2011 Total EU5 Smartphone Subscribers (UK, DE, FR, ES and IT) , Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
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| Oct-11 | Oct-12 | Point Change | |
| EU5 | 41.6% | 54.6% | 13 |
| Spain | 48.4% | 63.2% | 14.8 |
| UK | 48.1% | 62.3% | 14.2 |
| France | 38.1% | 51.4% | 13.3 |
| Italy | 42.1% | 51.2% | 9.1 |
| Germany | 34.2% | 48.4% | 14.2 |
Apple Tops UK Smartphone Manufacturer Ranking, but Samsung Gains Share
Apple remains the top smartphone OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) in the UK with 8.6 million users, capturing 28 percent of the market. Samsung has seen tremendous growth over the year and is now in second place after doubling its market share from 11.2 percent to 24 percent during the year. RIM ranks in third place with 15.2 percent share, followed closely by HTC with 15 percent share.
| Top Mobile OEMs 3 Month Average Ending Oct. 2012 vs. Oct. 2011 Total UK Smartphone Subscribers, Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
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| Share (%) of Smartphone Audience | |||
| Oct-11 | Oct-12 | Point Change | |
| Apple | 26.5% | 28.0% | 1.5 |
| Samsung | 11.2% | 24.0% | 12.8 |
| RIM | 17.7% | 15.2% | -2.5 |
| HTC | 17.7% | 15.0% | -2.7 |
| Nokia | 16.0% | 7.9% | -8.1 |
Google Manifests Position as Leading UK Smartphone OS
Out of the 30.9 million smartphone owners in the UK, nearly half (46.6 percent) ran on Google’s Android operating system. Google also showed the most significant growth over the year, increasing its market share by 12.4 percentage points. Apple ranked second with 28 percent share (up 1.5 percentage points), followed by RIM which held 15.2 percent of the operating system market in the three month average ending October 2012.
| Top Smartphone Operating Systems 3 Month Average Ending Oct. 2012 vs. Oct. 2011 Total UK Smartphone Subscribers, Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
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| Share (%) of Smartphone Audience | |||
| Oct-11 | Oct-12 | Point Change | |
| 34.2% | 46.6% | 12.4 | |
| Apple | 26.5% | 28.0% | 1.5 |
| RIM | 17.7% | 15.2% | -2.5 |
| Symbian | 17.2% | 6.4% | -10.8 |
| Microsoft | 2.6% | 3.1% | 0.5 |
About MobiLens
MobiLens data is derived from an online survey of a nationally representative sample of mobile subscribers age 13 and older. Data on mobile phone usage refers to a respondent’s primary mobile phone and does not include data related to a respondent’s secondary device.
