iPhone 5 likely to hit Android’s market share further in US, says analyst

Google’s Android will continue to lose its market share in the US after the launch of Apple's iPhone 5 later this year, an analyst said on Monday.

Android, which posted a decline in US market share in the last quarter for the first time since 2009, will continue to see a ‘material decline’ in its market share in the December quarter as well after the launch of iPhone 5, Apple Insider reported quoting Charlie Wolf, an analyst with Needham & Co.

In our opinion, this is just the beginning of Android’s share loss in the U.S., Wolf said.

Android’s share in the US smartphone market fell to 49.5 percent in the first quarter this year, compared with 52.4 percent in December quarter last year, marking the first sequential loss in market share in any region since 2009.

Wolf said the decline in Android’s share in the last quarter was due to the availability of iPhone 4 on the Verizon network and also acknowledged that a substantial number of Verizon subscribers seem to wait for the next iPhone before they upgrade. Verizon is expected to make available the next iPhone at the same time as AT&T.

“iPhone could also be launched on the Sprint and T-Mobile networks this fall, he said.

With the availability of next iPhone from Apple on various networks, Apple could regain its market share in the US.

The latest buzz in the market is that Apple will release the much-awaited iPhone 5 in the first week of September. Some tech websites have gone ahead to make the prediction that the device will arrive on September 7. The iPhone 5 will come pre-loaded with the iOS 5, the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system.

Apple has already said the iOS 5 will hit the market in July. So, it is believed that the next generation iPhones will come pre-loaded with the latest operating system, which has been enriched by at least 200 new features.