Google’s Android extends smartphone dominance in key markets

Android remains the dominant smartphone platform across most major smartphone markets including the US, China, Japan and Europe, according to new figures.

The Kantar Worldpanel figures show Apple’s strongest market by market share is Japan, where it claims 47.4% of the market in the quarter ending August 2013, compared to 48.6% for Android.

In the US, despite a slip from 60.7% market share a year ago, Android claims 55.1% market share compared to 39.3% for iOS.

While Google doesn’t trade in China, Android’s market share is now at 72.4%, compared to a respectable 20.8% for Apple.

Meanwhile, across five leading European economies, including Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Spain, Android’s market share is 70.1%, compared to 16.1% for iOS and 9.2% for Windows Phone.

Across Europe, Windows Phone has reached 12% market share in Britain, 10.8% in France, 9.5% in Italy, 8.8% in Germany and 2.2% in Spain.

Britain remains Apple’s strongest major European market with 27.5% market share, with 17.5% in France, 14.4% in Italy, 9.5% in Germany and just 2.2% in Spain.

Meanwhile Britain is Android’s weakest major European market with 56.3% market share, with 63.3% in France, 71.6% in Italy and 78.7% in Germany.

The strongest major market for Android, however, was Spain, where it now claims 90.8% market share.

The figures also show that, outside Nokia’s traditional stronghold of Europe, Windows Phone continues to struggle, claiming just 3% market share in the US, 2.1% in China and a paltry 0.8% in Japan.