(ZDNet) – iPad sales may be waning, but Apple is leading a surging US phablet market, according to a new report.
Phablets accounted for 21 percent of all smartphone sales in the US during the first quarter of the year, almost quadrupling the six percent share the handsets had at the same time last year, according to figures published this week by analyst Kantar WorldPanel Comtech.
It also looks like Apple’s iPhone 6 drove much of that increase. According to Kantar, Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus made up 44 percent of the phablet category and was the most popular phablet, meaning Apple has beaten Samsung in a field the Korean company helped establish with its Galaxy Note line.
Phablets typically have displays larger than 5.5 inches; Google’s Nexus 6, LG’s G4 and G3, and Microsoft’s Lumia 1520 are all examples of this product category.
Phablet sales have risen far faster in the US than in the UK. Dominic Sunnebo, business unit director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Europe, told ZDNet phablets accounted for just nine percent of all smartphone sales in the UK in the first quarter, up from three percent last year.