iPhone 5c was best-selling smartphone in United Kingdom before iPhone 6 launched

 

While the narrative surrounding the mid-tier iPhone 5c often revolves around how the device has seen poor sales since it was released last year, a new study finds that the colorful handset was actually the best-selling smartphone in the United Kingdom prior to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

The market research firm Kantar Worldpanel has published a new report that claims the iPhone 5c was the top-selling smartphone in the United Kingdom during August, just weeks prior to Apple announcing the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus at a media event on September 9th in Cupertino.

The iPhone 5c outsold both the iPhone 5s and Samsung Galaxy S5 in August:

“The iPhone 5c was the best selling phone in Britain in August with 8.9% share, outselling the flagship iPhone 5s with 7.6% and the Samsung Galaxy S5 with 6.0%.”

The report finds that the iPhone 5c helped Apple see less of a drop in overall iPhone sales prior to the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Kantar Worldpanel claims that the iPhone 5c is often purchased by less tech-savvy buyers that would not be holding out for the latest smartphone.

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will undoubtedly overtake the top spot for sales in the United Kingdom for the month of September, given that Apple has sold well over a record-breaking 10 million iPhones since the new models were released.

Kantar Worldpanel claims up to 4 million smartphone users in the United Kingdom are eligible for an upgrade, although it remains to be seen how many Android-based smartphone owners will transition to the iPhone now that it has larger screen sizes available.

“Even before the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were revealed, 85% of British iPhone owners planned to choose another iPhone at upgrade time. Loyalty has never been Apple’s problem, but attracting customers away from Android has been a challenge. Before the iPhone 6 was announced just 13% of Samsung owners planned to switch to Apple with many choosing Samsung devices because of their larger screens. With this screen size issue now addressed by Apple with the iPhone 6 Plus, it now remains to be seen how much of a barrier iPhone’s significant price premium will have on people switching to it.”

Android continues to be the leading mobile operating system in Europe with 75.8% market share. iOS has 13.6% market share.

Have you recently purchased an iPhone 5c?

[via Kantar Worldpanel]