The report quotes Dominic Sunnebo, global strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech as stating that "Although the flagship iPhone 5 was widely credited with boosting Apple's global results last week, much of the market share growth for iOS in Britain is thanks to the competitively priced iPhone 4 attracting first time smartphone buyers. More than a third of iPhone 4's sold were to consumers who have never owned a smartphone before, compared with just one in 10 new customers buying the iPhone 5.

Margins are tighter at the entry-level end of the market, but as consumers become more engaged with their smartphone they are increasingly prepared to invest more when they upgrade. Apple boasts the highest level of customer loyalty of the operating systems, and by capturing consumers at entry-level it is in a good position to grow its customer base in the future. With almost 19 million feature-phone owners left in Britain, there is still a lot for iOS and the other platforms to compete for."

This latest statistical report all but confirms that a new entry level-like mid range iPhone from Apple has the potential of igniting sales around the globe in quick order.

The report notes that despite the resurgence of iOS, Android continues to hold the number one spot in Britain with 56.2% of the market. Yet the report didn't break down sales for the branded iPhone vs. Galaxy brand statistics which would have been more interesting a comparison.

In another report by Kantar out this morning, we learn that for the three months ending June 2013, iOS sales in the US were made up of 40% sales from Verizon, 39% from AT&T, 10% from Sprint and 8% from T-Mobile. While T-Mobile has seen the most increase in iOS sales with the introduction of the iPhone on this carrier occurring only recently, Verizon scores the most sales over the period.

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