The latest data from Kantar Worldpanel shows that iOS returned to growth in Q2 in both the U.S. and the five biggest markets in Europe in Q2, Apple’s share of the smartphone market growing by 1.3% in the USA and 3.1% in the UK. This gave Apple a 31.8% share in the U.S. and 37.2% in the UK.

In the USA, the iPhone 6s/6s Plus outsold the Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge to make the iPhone the best-selling device in the quarter at 15.1% against Samsung’s 14.1%, with the iPhone SE taking third place at 5.1% …

Surprisingly, the iPhone SE was the best-selling smartphone in the UK for the quarter, at 9.2% of the market, just ahead of the iPhone 6s at 9.1%.

There was less good news in China, where Apple’s share dropped 1.8% to 17.9%, putting Apple behind both Huawei and Xiaomi, both companies offering handsets at a wide range of prices. However, Apple remained the market leader in individual handset terms.

Apple suffered a bigger fall in Japan, dropping 4.2% to 38%.

While the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus remain the top selling smartphones in the region, pressure from Huawei’s Mate 8, P9, Xiaomi’s RedMi Note 3 and Mi 5, and Oppo’s R7 has led to increased competition in the market. With the continued supply constraints of the iPhone SE, that model was not able to make the expected impact, accounting for 2.5% of smartphone sales in the second quarter.

Despite concern at the lack of a significantly new design for the iPhone 7, Kantar is optimistic about Apple’s prospects through Q3 and Q4.

Rumors suggest that the iPhone 7 will go on sale on September 16, earlier than usual, Apple perhaps hoping to maximize the number of sales in calendar Q3 to change the narrative from falling sales.

With strong demand for the iPhone SE throughout the second quarter, it will be interesting to track whether iOS growth will continue through the third quarter, assuming that supplies become less constrained. Anticipation for the newest iPhone, usually released in late September every year, typically means a weaker summer period for iOS. However, sales data shows that 49% of US iPhone owners and 51% of Chinese iPhone owners own an iPhone 5s or older. This represents a large opportunity to upgrade these consumers to the latest four-inch iPhone.

The full set of Kantar data can be seen below.

Photo: Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/LNP/REX