Spain and Latin America turn their backs on the iPhone

Spain and Latin America are united by more than just a common language, it seems. Residents of both areas also share a mutual lack of love for the iPhone.

Market share of Apple’s operating system (iOS) was found to be the lowest — by quite a long way — in the two regions in a survey of five European countries, the United States, Australia, China and Latin America (Brazil, Mexico and Argentina) undertaken by Kantar Worldpanel in the third quarter of 2013.

In Spain, iOS use has increased two percentage points in the past year, from 2.4 to 4.8 percent. Curiously, something similar has happened in Latin America, where a rise from 4.6 to 6.6 percent was reported in the three countries surveyed.

The countries with the next lowest iOS use were Italy and Germany, with 10 percent each, though both have suffered drops in the past year: by four points in Italy and by two in the case of Germany.

Use of Apple’s operating system has also declined in China, dropping from 20.2 percent to 13.8 percent over the last 12 months. Forty percent of the country’s smartphones are now manufactured by local brands such as Huawei, Lenovo, Xiaomi and Coolpad.

In general Apple is strongest in the English-speaking world, and especially in the US, where it has 35.9 percent of the market, and Australia (32.9 percent).

The growth of Windows Phone is not news, but what is significant is the fact that in Italy the number of smartphones running Microsoft’s operating system has overtaken those running iOS in the last three months. In Europe one in every 10 smartphones sold are now Windows-powered, thanks to Nokia.

Ruled by Android

The Android system continues to grow, now boasting 71.9 percent of the European market, 4.4 points more than a year ago. Australia, where iOS and Windows dominate, is the only region where its use has dropped.

Spain, Latin America and China are the biggest Android users. Ninety percent of Spanish smartphones are powered by the operating system — the largest market share in the world and up 5.7 points on last year. However, it will soon likely be overtaken by Latin America, where Android’s share is 73.4 percent, which represents a 23-point increase in the past 12 months. In China the figure is 81 percent, a rise of 14.6 points. Blackberry is on the verge of disappearing in some European countries such as Spain, where several years ago it was number one. Now the firm only accounts for 0.3 percent of sales.