Kantar: Samsung's Galaxy S7 outsold Apple's iPhone 6s in the US between March and May 2016
The iPhone showed its first decline in sales numbers earlier this year, which has today been reiterated by the latest US mobile market data from Kantar Worldpanel.
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the second Kantar readout in a row pointing the same direction: the May report already showed Android gaining 7.3% YoY in the US in Q1 with the Galaxy S7 selling well, and today's March-to-May panel confirms Samsung's flagship actually outsold the iPhone 6s head-to-head.
The shape is familiar — a year earlier, the Galaxy S6 drove Android's US share up 2.8 points over the same March-May window. What makes this installment notable is that Kantar frames it as the iPhone's first decline in US sales, landing mid-cycle between Apple flagships.
First-order effects
- Apple enters the back half of 2016 with its first recorded US iPhone sales decline, riding an aging 6s lineup against Samsung's current-generation S7.
- Samsung's US momentum compounds: after the S6-era gains of 2015, the S7 extends Android's advantage through a second consecutive spring window.
Second-order effects
- Apple's answer is deferred to its next hardware refresh, making the fall 2016 launch the pivot on which this share swing gets judged — carriers and buyers hold upgrade decisions against that clock.
- Samsung's spring strength raises the bar for its own follow-up: any stumble on the next Galaxy flagship hands the narrative straight back, which is precisely what happened when Note7 troubles lifted iPhone US share 7 points to 40.5% by December.
Third-order effects
- The episode argues that US smartphone share is cyclical rather than structural — leadership alternates with each flagship generation and misstep, so a single quarter's crossover signals timing, not a durable shift in platform preference.
The trend: US smartphone market share oscillates on flagship release cadence — Samsung peaks in the spring gap between iPhone generations, and Apple recovers with each new model or whenever its rival stumbles.