Britons plump for pricier new iPhone model
APPLE’S iPhone 5S had outsold the company’s 5C model three to one in the UK, despite the higher price of the more powerful handset.
According to sales figures from Kantar Worldpanel Comtech, released today, the more expensive 5S has proved much more popular among British consumers.
However, in the US, Apple has had more success in tempting customers away from competitor firms: almost half of customers that owned the less expensive 5C model moved over from other brands.
In comparison, four in every five US buyers of the 5S model have upgraded from an earlier iPhone model.
According to the figures, Apple has lost a small portion of its considerable market share in both countries. In the UK, 28.7 per cent of mobile phones sold in the three months to October ran Apple’s operating system, in comparison to 32.7 per cent at the same time last year.
In the US, the proportion has declined at a faster rate, down from 47.2 per cent to 40.8 per cent during the same period.
Apple’s sales also dipped over the 12 months in France, Germany, Italy and China, making small gains in Australia and Spain.
“Generally, Apple’s share of the market still remains lower than when the iPhone 5 was released, although this is not wholly unexpected as shoppers tend to react more positively to “full” releases than incremental improvements such as the 5S and 5C,” said Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel Comtech.
The firm noted that as the iPhone 5S/C was released after the iPhone 5 in countries like Spain and Italy, a direct comparison is not yet possible.