The biggest Japanese mobile phone companies are
In December 2022, Android recorded a market share of 51.1 percent among smartphone operating systems in Japan, while iOS held a market share of 44.9 percent. According to the methodology employed by the source, Android was the most widely used operating system in Japan throughout the whole year.
Market research firm Strategy Analytics reports that Samsung now has a 13.5 percent market share in Japan's smartphone market as of Q1 2022. It overtook local competitor Sharp that now accounts for 9.2 percent of the market. Apple still commands the top spot with 56.8 percent of the market.
Apple or Android
In 2022, Android users were found to have represented a slight majority of the mobile market at 53.4 percent, compared to 46.6 percent being Apple users.
In Japan, more than 70% of players use smartphones, the majority of which are iPhones.
Globally, it is said that 30% is iPhone and 70% is Android. Apple leads in Japan market.
Cellphones, SIM cards and pocket Wi-Fi: Japan uses 3G network for their cell phones and if you have a cell phone that is 4G then it won't work. SIM cards are mostly for data for foreign phones so if you want to have a Japanese telephone number the only solution is to rent a phone.
The latest statistics on the smartphone market share worldwide show that as of April 2023, US phone maker Apple leads the pack, with a market share of 30.44%. This means that more than three in 10 smartphone users worldwide use an Apple phone. Second on the list of the most popular smartphone manufacturers is Samsung.
In spite of the competition, Apple manages to make some impact. The new report reveals that the iPhone 13 is mainly responsible for Apple's good sales in China. The iPhone 13 will be the most popular mobile phone in China in 2022. This alone increased its market share by 6.6%, up from 2.3% in 2021.
We asked U.S. consumers about "Most popular smartphone brands" and found that "Apple" takes the top spot, while "ZTE" is at the other end of the ranking. These results are based on a representative online survey conducted in 2023 among 9,571 consumers in the United States.
In 2022, Samsung's market share of smartphones in South Korea amounted to over 63 percent, higher than the market share in Malaysia and Philippines. In comparison, Samsung's market share of smartphones in China was the lowest during that year.
Xiaomi ranks among the top five smartphone makers in 42 markets, according to Wang, who told Nikkei that it aims to achieve that status in Japan as well. "The Japanese market is the most developed in Asia," he said.
8 out of the top 10 best-selling smartphones in the world are iPhones. And although the remaining two are made by Samsung, they're not exactly the most technically-impressive Galaxy models. A recent paper by market analyst Counterpoint Research revealed the world's top 10 best-selling phones of 2022.
The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max were the most purchased models, grabbing 22 and 24% share of the total, respectively. The iPhone 14 was the third most popular with 19% of the total.
Interestingly, Apple iPhone 11, launched more than 3 years ago, is still the most used smartphone in the world. According to the Mobile Overview Report (MOVR) Q3 2022 report by Scientiamobile, approximately 5.53% of the world's total smartphone usage is recorded on iPhone 11.
The simple answer is that the iPhone established huge penetration before Android. When the iPhone was introduced, Softbank was second in the market and looking for an edge. Apple gave it exclusivity for the iPhone.
Experts said that Apple might have strategically kept the prices low in Japan where the company enjoys a high market share. "In Japan, Apple has a 50% share, which is on the high side in the 37 countries and regions," Tadayuki Shinozaki, chief analyst at MM Research Institute, said.
If you bought your iPhone unlocked from the Apple store, it will work perfectly fine in Japan. Don't forget that to use mobile internet with the phone. You must have some of the alternatives we mentioned, such as eSIM for Japan, SIM card, pocket wifi, or international roaming.
As of March 2022, Android operating systems for smartphones held a market share of 53.6 percent in Australia. Android has consistently been the leading mobile phone operating system in the country, however, iOS has been increasing its market share over the past decade.
Apple's iPhone still dominate the Australian market
Apple saw a small 0.6% increase year-on-year (claiming 44.2% of the market in Q1 2023), while Samsung experienced a drop of 13.2% (with 35.1% in 2023's first quarter).
Statistics from StatCounter(Opens in a new window) show that the iPhone holds over 60 percent of the market in Japan and over 50 percent of the market in the United States. The numbers in Canada are closer to a 50-50 split. Unfortunately for Apple, these are the only countries where iOS is more popular than Android.