The launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus helped Apple boost its market share across the UK, US and China. Research, conducted by Kantar Worldpanel, also revealed the decline of the Android market in the UK.

Apple managed to achieve the majority share of the UK smartphone market in the three months ending November 2014, with 39.5% of all sales.

Data revealed that the iPhone accounted for 42.5% of British sales, a 12.2 % year-on-year growth triggered by the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

In contrast, the market share of Google’s Android OS fell by 6.7% in the same period across the UK.

Samsung also saw a decline across the European and US markets, due to the release of the low priced Moto X and Moto G handsets.

In the US, Apple accounted for 47.4% of sales, 4.3% higher than recorded sales in 2013. This equates to to one in five smartphones purchased in the US being an iPhone.

Across Europe, Android continued to dominate the OS market with a 69.9% market share. This was, however, 3.2% lower when looking at a year-on year comparison during the same period.

Kantar Worldpanel ComTech chief of research Carolina Milanesi said: "A decline in Android market share does not necessarily translate into bad news for all the ecosystem’s players."

"The choice of brands and devices within the ecosystem empowers consumers to drive different fortunes for the players in it."

Milanesi added: "While die-hard featurephone owners state they are not planning to buy a smartphone in the next 12 months, they might not have a choice as vendors continue to transition their portfolio away from featurephones to smartphones."