Over Two-Thirds of European Smartphone Sales are Android

The Galaxy S3, with its 4.8" display, is no doubt helping push the sales growth of devices with larger screens

Over the last 12 weeks, 67.1 per cent of smartphones sold in Europe ran on Android, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech . That figure is up nine per cent from last year.

Android's dominance is particularly marked in Spain, where 86.8 per cent of all smartphones sold were powered by Google's OS, but it isn't performing too shabbily in the UK, either - shooting up 14.1 per cent to a total share of 62.4 per cent. That growth comes at the expense, unsurprisingly, of BlackBerry sales, which fell to a share of 9.3 per cent, down 11.9 per cent from a year previous.

Is bigger better?

Handsets with bigger screens are starting to sell better and better, according to Kantar - 29 per cent of the Android devices sold over the period had screens larger than 4.5".

“Consumers who own a smartphone with a larger screen tend to be much more engaged with their device across a whole array of functions,” says Kantar global consumer insight director Dominic Sunnebo. “For example, only 19 per cent of consumers with a screen smaller than 3" download or watch videos, compared to 65 per cent when the screen is 5" or more. However, bigger screens don’t just lead to an improved consumer experience; they also play a key part in customer retention. ComTech data shows that the more engaged consumers are with their device, the more likely they are to stay loyal to an OS or brand when they upgrade.”

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