The latest smartphone sales data from Kantar for the three months ending January 2016 shows that Apple's iOS continued to grow share in urban China, though the rate of that growth was the slowest since late 2014. Apple also remained the most popular brand, capturing 25% of smartphone sales.

Tamsin Timpson, strategic insight director at Kantar Asia noted in the report that "In urban China, iOS share continued to grow year-over-year, albeit at a slower pace, as iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone 6 were the best-selling smartphones in the region."

Noteworthy is that the report further noted that "Huawei continued its momentum and is closing the gap with its nearest competitor, Apple. Xiaomi, which announced its Mi-5 at the recent Mobile World Congress, maintained a distant third, as it dropped 10.2 percentage points over the same period in 2015."

To view iOS market share in other countries and/or to view comparisons from iOS 2015 to 2016, visit Kantar's 'Smartphone OS Sales Market Share' interactive chart here.

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