iPhone 5c is a flop? Well, Apple could care less, as according to the latest Kantar report, the budget iPhone is grabbing the switchers from rival Android platform.
Per Kantar Worldpanel ComTech's latest report, Android still beats the iPhone by capturing 53 percent of smartphone sales in the U.S. and 71 percent of all sales across key markets in Europe viz. the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. In contrast, Apple could capture 41 percent of all smartphone sales in the U.S. and only 15.8 percent in Europe.
The report goes on to further reveal Apple's struggle by stating that in Spain, Android rules by garnering 90 percent of all smartphone sales, while Apple is tied with WIndows Phone at 4.3 percent. This, despite Apple launching two models - the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c.
However, the fight is far from over. Though Apple hasn't been able to see much traction in upgrades, compared to last year's launch of iPhone 5, which saw almost all the users of previous iterations of iPhones upgrading, the company's got a reason to smile and that's because of iPhone 5c. That's right. The iPhone 5c, which has been criticized heavily for being the rotten apple due to its cheap, plasticky body, underwhelming features, and exorbitant price tag, has been quietly playing an important role, and that's weaning away smartphone users away from Android and introducing them to the shiny Apple kingdom.
"The good news for Apple is that this wider appeal is attracting significant switching from competitors," wrote Dominic Sunnebo, consumer insights director at Kantar.
"Almost half of iPhone 5c owners switched from competitor brands, particularly Samsung and LG, compared with 80 percent of 5s owners who upgraded from a previous iPhone model," Sunnebo wrote.
The Kantar report also throws some light on the type of iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c buyers - typically, iPhone 5c buyers are less economically affluent and older than iPhone 5s buyers.
Kantar had reported earlier that Apple's latest iPhones have stormed the Japanese market, capturing 76.1 percent of sales in October.
Apple is also reportedly close to striking a deal with China Mobile, the biggest wireless carrier in China with over 700 million subscribers, which might see the carrier selling the latest iPhones in the mainland later this month or in the first quarter of 2014.
That's right. The fight is far from over.
