iOS overtakes Android in the US in Q4 2014, report says

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BY Unknown 02:14 0

iOS overtakes Android in the US in Q4 2014, report says

If you needed more proof about how successful Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have been, especially in the US market, then this is going to be it.

According to the analysts at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, iOS has managed to take the lead from Android in the US smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2014 (so between October and December).

Granted, Apple's managed to sell only slightly more iOS devices than all Android makers combined - the difference is just 0.1%. Still, it's interesting because the last time something like this happened was in Q4 of 2012.

For the last three months of last year, Kantar says 47.7% of smartphones sold in the US were iPhones, while 47.6% ran Android. Windows Phone accounted for 3.8% of the market, while BlackBerry had to make do with just 0.3%.

Throughout the holiday quarter, the iPhone 6 was the best selling smartphone in the US, as well as the most popular handset to be given as a gift. Samsung's Galaxy S5 was the second best. When it comes to brand loyalty, Apple is leading again, with 87% in the US and Europe. Samsung fares the best out of the Android device makers with 62%.

Obviously though, Android remains the biggest mobile OS worldwide, with a 66.1% share in Europe and 77% in China. That said, smartphone penetration is still just 59% in the US and 67% in the top five European markets, which means there's still growth to come.

While reading the numbers above keep in mind that ComTech is a consumer panel, getting its data from interviews with ordinary people. This is different from other approaches, which prefer to track actual shipments of devices from manufacturers to retailers and carriers.

Last quarter saw Apple selling its billionth iOS device – a 64 GB iPhone 6 Plus

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BY Unknown 20:29 0

Last quarter saw Apple selling its billionth iOS device – a 64 GB iPhone 6 Plus

Apple has revealed that it sold its one billionth iOS device in Q4, 2014 – on November 22 to be precise. The revelation was made by CEO Tim Cook during an analysts’ call yesterday (after the company released its first-quarter earnings report), where he also said that it was a space-gray 64-gigabyte iPhone 6 Plus.

“One billion devices is an almost unfathomable milestone and we are all incredibly proud to be a part of it,” Cook said.

He also revealed many other jaw-dropping numbers: the company sold over 34,000 iPhones every hour, 24 hours a day for the entire last quarter; more than half billion customers visited at the company’s stores (both physical and online combined) during the quarter; and the iPhone 6 was available in 130 countries by the end of the quarter.

Cook also said that the iPhone 6 was the most popular iPhone last quarter, outselling its larger sibling iPhone 6 Plus.