Top iOS news of the week: Battery drain, Android switchers, iPad sales dropping

iPhones grabbing Android customers in the EU

In the first quarter of this year Apple's latest iPhones were gaining in popularity in five of the largest countries in Europe, and that increase is at the expense of Android. Apple's share of the smartphone market grew to 20.3 percent while the Android share fell to 68.4 percent, a drop of 3.1 percent.

These numbers in the major EU markets, specifically Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, indicate that Android owners are beginning to switch to the iPhone 6 Plus.

Source: CNET

iPhone 6 Plus sales lead phablet growth and impacting tablets

Tablets sales continue to tumble but phablets, led by the iPhone 6 Plus, are going strong. In the first quarter of 2015 phablets accounted for 21 percent of all smartphone sales in the US.

Of those sales, the iPhone 6 Plus was 44 percent of them, dominating the competition. The large phone is resonating with US consumers, and apparently cannibalizing tablet sales.

Source: PC Magazine

Latest update to Kindle app on iOS may be draining the battery

A report on ZDNet indicates that the Kindle app on iOS appears to be draining iPhone and iPad batteries at an alarming rate. The timing of this battery drain indicates the last update to the app on April 15 may be responsible for the problem.

Amazon told ZDNet they should have a fix soon, and later backtracked to say they haven't identified the problem yet. Some Kindle app users have resorted to powering their iPads off during the day to keep the battery from running dry.

Source: ZDNet

Tumbling iPad sales expected to continue

Insiders in the supply chain for the iPad expect sales to continue to drop for the near future. Sales have been dropping for five consecutive quarters and according to those making components for the iPad their business is hurting as a result.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently acknowledged that the large iPhone 6 Plus is cannibalizing iPad sales.

Source: Cult of Mac