Bad market for Apple as iPhone loses top spot to Android in Australia

The road is not always good most times. Apple's iOS, exclusive to the iPhone and iPad, has lost its crown as the smartphone operating system of choice in Australia, with sales of Android phones overtaking those of the iPhone in the first half of 2015, according to technology analyst firm Telsyte.
Smartphones running Google's Android operating system – including those manufactured by Samsung, Sony, HTC, LG and more – made up 54 per cent of smartphone sales in the period, with iPhone sales sliding back to 41 per cent.

The iPhone 6 was announced this time last year, and was a big hit in Australia. Photo: Getty Images

The remaining 5 per cent sliver of the market was made up of Windows Phone sales.
Competing analysis from Kantar WorldPanel puts Android even further ahead in Australia with a 56.1 per cent market share over the three months to July 2015, and iOS further behind at 34.9 per cent.
Australians remain some of the biggest iOS fans in the world, however, with iOS penetration second only to Japan, where 35.1 per cent used iOS in the same period, according to Kantar WorldPanel. Even in the US, home to Apple, penetration is at 30.1 per cent.


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Samsung CEO JK Shin showcasing the Galaxy S6 Edge+ (left) and Galaxy Note 5 at an event in New York. Photo: Reuters

And, given Android includes multiple manufacturers, Apple is likely to remain the number one smartphone brand in Australia, even if iOS has lost its spot as the top mobile operating system. (Telsyte did not release market share data for specific manufacturers.)
You can see for yourself how iOS's market share grows around key events like the iPhone 6 launch, and then wanes again, by playing with Kantar WorldPanel's interactive graph.
Apple clocked up record sales in the final (calendar) quarter of 2014 thanks to the release of its best-selling iPhone 6 and 6 Plus flagship smartphone, putting it ahead of Android competitors in Australia. But sales have dropped off in recent months.

The Apple Watch remains a niche market, but is still the most popular smartwatch in Australia. Photo: Bloomberg
 

The US tech giant is expected to announce new models in the US on Wednesday (3am AEST Thursday), which Apple watchers are calling the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, along with an update to its Apple TV set-top box, and a large-screen iPad.
If Apple follows previous timelines, it will begin shipping the new phones within weeks, lending it another big sales bump for the final quarter of 2015.
However analysts are predicting this year's iPhone sales spike will be smaller than last year's, meaning the new models are unlikely to propel iOS back into the top spot in Australia.
"Based on historical trends, it is unlikely we will see a big upgrade to the next iPhone iteration," Telsyte analyst Alvin Lee said, making it less attractive for iPhone users to upgrade their phones this year.
"While we anticipate Android to be ahead again in [second half of] 2015, the last generation iPhone 6/6 Plus will still do well due to price deductions and Apple should not be far behind Android with the help of both old and new iPhones," Mr Lee said.

Korean manufacturer Samsung showcased the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge + in New York last month, while Sony unveiled three new models in its popular Xperia line at this week's IFA convention in Berlin.
Samsung remains the leader of the pack of Android phone manufacturers in Australia, according to the Telstye data, while Sony has edged up into the number two spot, overtaking struggling Taiwanese manufacturer HTC.
HTC's share price on the Taiwan Stock Exchange has plummeted in recent weeks since it forecast a quarterly loss five times greater than analysts expected.

Apple leads smartwatch sales in Australia

The Telsyte research also showed hype around Apple's first smartwatch failed to really boost the niche sector in Australia, with 10 per cent of smartwatch owners admitting they had stopped wearing their smartwatch altogether.
Still, Apple has managed to carve out the majority of sales in a relatively small market, totalling 64 per cent of the 205,000 estimated units sold in Australia overall in the first half of 2015, or about 131,000 Apple Watches.
By comparison, Telsyte predicts 4.5 million smartphones will be sold in Australia in the second half of 2015.
Telsyte managing director Foad Fadaghi said Apple's dominance of the smartwatch market in the period was largely due to a lack of competing Android devices being released during that time.
The Apple Watch began shipping on April 24 with customers initially required to book an appointment in an Apple Store to try on the smartwatch.
Rival Android smartphone and wearables manufacturer Samsung unveiled its latest smartwatch, the Gear S2, at this week's IFA convention in Berlin.