San Francisco, Sep 4 (IANS): Tech giant Apple's iPhones have overtaken Android devices to account for more than half of all smartphones used in the US, says a new report.

According to Counterpoint Research, the active installed base of iPhones passed the 50 per cent landmark in the quarter ending in June, while around 150 other mobile brands use the Android operating system, citing the Financial Times, MacRumors reported.

"Operating systems are like religions -- never significant changes. But over the past four years, the flow has consistently been Android to iOS," Counterpoint's research director, Jeff Fieldhack, was quoted as saying.

"This is a big milestone that we could see replicated in other affluent countries across the globe," Fieldhack added.

Android phones appeared on the market in 2008, a year after the iPhone debuted, and overtook the iOS-installed base in 2010, according to the NPD group.

In the three years previous, phone sales were dominated by the likes of Nokia, Motorola, Windows, and Blackberry.

The "iPhone" has made Apple the largest company in the world, with a market capitalisation of $2.5 trillion, the report said.

In 2020, the installed global base for iPhones surpassed 1 billion devices. CEO Tim Cook recently said that Apple had "set a June quarter record for switchers," or consumers leaving Android for iOS.