Samsung’s newly-launched flagship Galaxy S5 might have hoped to capture some of the iPhone’s market dominance in Britain, but new research figures show that even in its first month it trailed behind sales of the iPhone 5s and even Apple’s so-called “flop” iPhone 5c.
The numbers were crunched by research company Kantar Worldpanel, which looked at smartphone sales in the month of May. The Galaxy S5 did manage to convert a few former iOS users to become Android fans, with 17 percent of new S5 owners being former iPhone users.
Even this news is unlikely to worry Apple (or make Samsung particularly cheerful), however:
“In general, consumers buying the Galaxy S5 were primarily attracted by its large screen size,” said Kantar Worldpanel ComTech strategic insight director Dominic Sunnebo. “This is something Apple is likely to address with the [rumored] larger screen iPhone 6 launch expected in late September.
The iPhone 6 is predicted to arrive this September, likely in 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch variants, signaling Apple’s entry into the “phablet” space. Given that this is one of the few advantages Samsung handsets like the Galaxy S5 currently enjoy over the iPhone it will be fascinating to see what impact this has on iPhone sales around the world.
In the U.S., sales of the Galaxy S5 were ahead of the iPhone 5c, but behind the iPhone 5s. Overall U.S. sales give Samsung the slight edge, with 36.8 percent of the market versus Apple’s 32.5 percent.
Source: Kantarworldpanel