Attendees Play A Check-In Game To Win Prizes By Tapping Their NFC-Enabled Android Smartphones
IN PHOTO: Attendees play a check-in game to win prizes by tapping their NFC-enabled Android smartphones at the Google I/O developers conference in San Francisco June 25, 2014. Reuters/Elijah Nouvelage

Google's Android has topped Apple's iOS as Australia's first choice of operating systems in smartphone technology.

CraveOnline reported that Google's operating system, the Android, has topped Apple with a commanding 51 per cent of Australia's 16 million smartphone user market.

According to the Smartphone Market Study 2014-2018 by research firm Telsyte, by the end of June 2014, there were 16 million smartphone users in Australia. It is an increase of 1.1 million over the past six months. Both the Android and Apple platforms have reportedly grown in the first half of 2014. Together, they make up 93 percent of the installed base of users.

However, android smartphones showed to have overtaken iPhones as the main purchase device on contract carriers. Even 10 percent of those who planned on buying an Android smartphone are also currently using an iPhone.

The research showed that one in five existing Android users who intend to purchase a new smartphone but not an iPhone, indicated they would "change their smartphone purchasing decision" if a larger screen iPhone 6 becomes available.

Telsyte also estimates that an additional 5.6 million new smartphones will be sold in Australia in the second half of 2014, while 1.5 million new users will join the market. The increase takes Australia's population of smartphone users to around 17.5 million out of the 23.5 million people living in the country.

Meanwhile, the popularity of Apple's operating system, the iOS, has shriveled further down in the market share. It is now at 42 percent from the 44 percent it held of Australia's 10-million smartphone using population in 2010.

However, Apple is hoping to match Android's numbers with the expected September release of the iPhone 6, which is reported to feature a larger screen more comparable to Google's smartphones.

A report from Bloomberg claims Apple production in China is working on two versions of Apple's iPhone6. One model will feature a 4.7-inch display, compared to the 4-inch screen of the iPhone 5. The other model will feature a 5.5-inch version of the iPhone 6.

"Some 40 per cent of survey respondents that intend to purchase an iPhone 6 indicated they would only consider it if it has a larger screen," Telsyte Managing Director Foad Fadaghi said.