Smartphone sales in Australia rose 3.8 per cent year-on-year in H1 to 3.8 million units, with Android devices accounting for 62 per cent of unit sales, up from 55 per cent in H1 2015.

The market leaders in the first half of the year were Samsung, Apple and Huawei, together accounting for 79 per cent of all units sold, according to Telsyte.

Despite the slowdown in Apple sales in H1, Telsyte believes iPhone sales will bounce back in H2 with the arrival of the iPhone 7, and expected price decreases on older Apple models.

Telsyte forecasts the iPhone 7 will kick off a wave of hand-me-down and second-hand iPhones, which might impact the sales of sub-premium Android models throughout the next 12 months.

“Android had a good run in the first half of 2016, however, trend and purchase intention data indicates Apple consumers are on the verge of an iPhone upgrade cycle,” Telsyte senior analyst Alvin Lee said.

For the full year, Telsyte forecasts annual smartphone sales to remain at last year’s level.

With the smartphone market cooling, smartwatch sales in the country grew 89 per cent year-on-year in H1. As smartphone replacement cycles have lengthened, consumers are turning to other gadgets and smartwatches have started to capture the imagination, said Telsyte MD Foad Fadaghi. “We might be seeing the beginning of a substitution effect, where consumers are choosing a smartwatch over a new smartphone.”