Samsung Is Back As Top US Vendor, Thanks To Galaxy S6: Kantar Report

Thanks to a radical design change and cutting-edge configurations in the Galaxy S6 series of handsets, Samsung has regained market share it had lost in the U.S., making it once again the No. 1 phone vendor in the U.S.

According to Kantar World Panel, Samsung has reportedly regained its position in the U.S. predominantly because of the impressive sales of the newly released Galaxy S6. The Samsung Galaxy S6 is the third-best-selling smartphone currently in the U.S., behind the Apple iPhone 6 and the 2014 flagship Samsung Galaxy S5, notes GSM Arena.

Furthermore, the Apple iOS market share has declined marginally during the three-month period that ended in May, to 30.9 percent. Market share is down about 2.4 percentage points when compared to the same period in 2014. The rest of the market share is reportedly divided between Google’s Android (64.9 percent), Microsoft’s Windows Phone (3.5 percent) and BlackBerry OS (0.7 percent).

Japan apparently has the highest market share for Apple’s OS. But Android is not far behind. However, BlackBerry and Windows Phones are almost non-existent in Japan. In comparison, Spain has relatively less iOS users -- less than 8 percent of Spaniards reportedly use Apple iPhones, whereas Android-based phones have a 90 percent market share.

Meanwhile, Apple iOS is reportedly seeing good response in Europe, and Android has strong market presence in the top 5 European countries, Spain, Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy. And as for the Windows Phone, in the U.S., Microsoft’s OS market share stands at only 3.5 percent, but Windows Phones are still preferred in Europe with an impressive market share of approximately 10 percent.

In the meantime, GSM Arena says, China seems to be on a different course, with Apple, Huawei and Xiaomi taking the top spots. As it turns out, affluent buyers opt for either an Apple device or a Xiaomi one. However, the relatively less fortunate ones reportedly prefer Huawei handsets.

Check out the interactive market share list (divided by countries) from Kantar’s official website.