The iPhone SE was the best-selling smartphone in the UK, outperforming other top-end handsets in the second quarter of this year.
Data from global market research firm Kantar Worldpanel show that the iPhone SE became the top-selling mobile phone in the UK in Q2 of 2016 with a market share of 9.2 percent. The iPhone 6s was at the second position with 9.1 percent market share.
The high sales of the iPhone SE as well as the iPhone 6s helped iOS grow in the UK during the quarter.
"Together they contributed to iOS growth of 3.1 percentage points to 37.2% in the second quarter of 2016," says Kantar Worldpanel.
Apart from the UK, iOS smartphone sales also increased marginally in the U.S., while Android mobile phone sales declined slightly in the country.
"iOS grew 1.3 percentage points year-over-year, accounting for 31.8% of smartphone sales in the second calendar quarter of 2016. Android accounted for 65.5% of smartphone sales, a small decline from the 66.1% of the same period a year ago," added Kantar.
Although the iPhone SE overshadowed all other mobile phones in the UK, it was not the same in the U.S. Kantar notes that the combined iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus sales during Q2 of 2016 was 15.1 percent, which made them the top-selling smartphones in the quarter in the U.S.
The second position was held by Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, which accounted for 14.1 percent of overall smartphone sales.
The iPhone SE is still popular being the third best-selling smartphone in the country with a market share of 5.1 percent.
Over the last few years, more smartphone customers have been looking to purchase a handset with a screen size of 5 inches or above, which led Apple to increase the display size of its new flagship handsets, the iPhone 6 lineup. However, it turns out many customers still prefer using a small, easy-to-carry smartphone.
After a gap of two years, Apple announced and released the 4-inch iPhone SE in March. The smartphone packs in similar features found on the iPhone 6s but in a smaller form factor, which has attracted those looking for a smaller handset.
According to an International Data Corporation (IDC) report, iPhone global shipments declined from 47.5 million units in Q2 of 2015 to 40.4 million units in Q2 of 2016, a drop of 15 percent year-over-year. However, the iPhone SE was able to entice customers in many regions of the world.
"The new 4-inch iPhone SE proved successful in both emerging and developed markets as the new SE has captured many first-time smartphone buyers as well as Android users switching over to the Apple ecosystem," says IDC.
Apple is expected to launch the next-gen iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus in September this year. Smartphone sale numbers in many parts of the world will undoubtedly change after the newest iPhones are finally released.
