Apple phones performed well in 2016, it was still unable to knock Android devices off of the top spot. While Apple performed well over Christmas, Android phones far outsold their iOS counterparts in the months leading up to the holiday season.
Both Apple and Android have come under fire recently for controversial decisions they made regarding some of their flagship products. Apple for removing various input jacks in their products, thus requiring the use of separately purchased "dongles." Android, on the other hand, had the battery problems that plagued the Samsung's Note 7 as well as the subsequent recall of the product.
Despite their problems, Apple sales were both considerably higher in late 2016 compared to the same time period in 2015. In the latter part of 2016, sales of the iPhone in the United States accounted for 43 percent of the market compared to the 36 percent in late 2015. The United Kingdom also saw better iPhone sales in late 2016 compared to the same timeframe in 2015, rising to 48 percent from 39 percent.
Because of Apple's recent rise, Android's market shares have experienced a steady decline. The 2016 holiday season marked the sixth consecutive period of decline in Android sales in the US, according to Kantar World Panel. During this period, Android sales accounted for a still leading 55 percent of the US market, but lower than late 2015's 60 percent.
Samsung phones are arguably the best-selling Android phones in today's market. However, it would still be hard to tell if better sales of the Note 7 could have saved them from their current slump, CNET reported.
While iOS phones are slowly gaining ground on Android devices in the U.S. and in the U.K., the story is vastly different in Germany and China. In these countries, Android's market shares rose, while Apple's took a turn for the worse.
German iOS sales dropped 3.2 percent in late 2016, whilst Android sales rose by 6.5 percent. In China - a country Apple has had difficulty gaining ground in - Android sales grew by a massive 7.2 percent in the latter portion of 2016, while Apple sales dropped by 5.4 percent.
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