iPhone 7 Pushes Apple’s Biggest Growth In Years

It’s looking like Apple is ringing the cash registers this holiday season with sales of the iPhone 7. The firm is reporting its strongest growth rate in two years as it picks up market share on Android.

According to the latest data from Kantar World Panel, the iPhone 7 is the top-selling device in the U.S. and the U.K., in the three months up to October. Analysts noted that Samsung’s recall of its competitor device, the Galaxy Note 7, has been Apple’s and the iPhone’s gain.

“While Android dominates in terms of the raw number of devices it powers, Apple remains the most desirable smartphone brand in the world,” said Lauren Guenveur, Kantar’s consumer insight director. Android devices make up more than 75 percent of smartphone sales in most countries, Kantar said, but the rival operating system saw its fifth consecutive year of decline in the U.S.

The data also indicated that Google’s Pixel is at least making some kind of mark and has a share of the market roughly comparable to Microsoft’s.

Apple did have some bad news in that report — market share in China continues to decline, from 23 percent a year ago to 17 percent as of 2016.

Apple has also seen strength in its associated services, according to Apple Marketing Chief Phil Schiller.

“November 2016 was a record breaker for the App Store,” he said in a tweet, with the “highest monthly sales ever.”

Apple held the top three places in the market in the United Kingdom, with the iPhones 7, 6S and SE in 1, 2 and 3. Apple’s overall market share in the U.K. was up to 44 percent 2016, up from 40 percent in 2015. The iPhone’s biggest share gains were in its home market, however, the U.S., advancing from 34 to 41 percent year over year. That is their best result since January 2015.

“This confirms our belief that Apple rather than Android manufacturers stood to benefit most from the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall,” said Geoff Blaber, analyst at CCS Insight. “Google was distribution-limited with the Pixel, and few other Android devices can compete against the iPhone in the high tier.”