Kantar claims that Windows Phone is now winning over former Symbian platform users and has also started to win over former low-end Android users.
The latest report, titled "Mobile Trends that Matter Tomorrow", by research company Kantar Worldpanel.
According to Kantar, Samsung appears to be maintaining its leadership in the smartphone market, but is facing several difficulties. The decrease in market share for the last quarter of 2013, from 43.4% to 41.3%, compared to the same period in 2012, is indicative. Now, the Korean company is under pressure from new, local companies, such as Xiaomi, Coolpad and Huawei in China.
In contrast, in markets like Latin America, fierce competition comes from more traditional forces that are recovering, such as LG and Motorola. Kantar forecasts Samsung to maintain its top spot, but continued pressure from competition is expected to lead to significant market share losses.
In contrast, Kantar describes Windows Phone as the “fastest growing operating system in the world.” According to the report, things started to change for Microsoft’s operating system when the Nokia Lumia 520 and Lumia 620 were launched last year, which targeted the low-to-mid-range segment of the market (in terms of technical specifications), as well as first-time smartphone buyers.
Kantar claims that Windows Phone is now winning over former Symbian users and has begun to win over former low-end Android users. At the same time, this low-end audience also constitutes a potential buyer for the more high-end models from Microsoft and Nokia, when these consumers proceed to upgrade their device.
However, there are also some interesting statistics in the Kantar report. Only 41% of smartphone buyers remain loyal to a certain brand, while 68% remain loyal to its operating system. In addition, there is a trend where consumers who change smartphones usually get a new device with a larger screen.
In Europe, however, this trend is showing signs of slowing down. More specifically, almost half of European phablet owners have opted to buy a new device with a smaller screen diagonal. Kantar claims that the launch of devices like the Samsung Galaxy S4 and LG G2, with screens close to 5 inches and small bezels, has enabled this shift.
Moving on to the “eternal” battle of operating systems, the research claims that Android dominates the 12 major markets with a share of around 70%, in contrast to iOS which is in second place with a share of 22%. However, in the qualitative data of the research, iOS has more “loyal” users than Android (84% versus 78%). Also, Apple device owners spend $72 per month on their mobile bill, compared to $69, which Android device users spend.
Source: naftemporiki.gr
