Apple Inc. iPhone Now Accounts For 25 Percent Of Smartphones Sold In China, Kantar Data Shows

To say Apple is doing well overseas would be an understatement. Riding a wave of record-breaking global sales of 74.5 million in the fourth quarter, Apple's iPhones now account for 1 in 4 smartphones sold in China, according to the latest sales data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

In the three months ended in January, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus drove iOS’ share in China to 25.4 percent, up 8 percent from the same period in 2014. “In urban China, Apple’s iPhone 6 was the best-selling phone in the three months ending in January with a share of 9.5 percent,” Tamsin Timpson, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Asia, said. While Xiaomi continues to lead in overall share in China, with several of its phones in the top 10 sellers' list, the gap between Xiaomi and Apple has closed to 2.2 percent.

In Europe, Android’s market share continued to slide, falling 2.2 percent compared to a year earlier, while iOS'share grew 3.2 percent. But out of all the European countries, Great Britain saw the biggest drop in Android share, falling 3.7 percent.

China continues to be an important market for Apple, accounting for $16.1 billion of the company's $74.6 billion total revenue for the first 2015 fiscal quarter. Apple has been ramping up its retail efforts in China, with several store expansions coinciding with the Chinese New Year last month. And on the marketing side, Apple has also been on a blitz, with the Apple Watch featured in a number of fashion publications in China, including East Touch and YOHO magazine.

Beyond Apple’s retail efforts, the company is also expected to expand Apple Pay in China later this year. But with some negotiations reportedly stalled with China UnionPay, it’s unknown exactly when that may happen.