Apple saw a sales “bounce back” across Europe, Japan and Australia for the three months to March 2014, according to research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

“Apple regained ground in the first quarter of 2014, primarily due to the strong performance of the iPhone 5S, growing its sales share in Europe, Japan and Australia. By contrast, Windows had a tough start to the year as a result of its entry-level Nokia models facing fierce competition from low-end Motorola, LG and Samsung Android smartphones,” said Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director.

Across Europe, the Google platform remains the number one OS, with 70.7 per cent share, with iOS second on 19.2 per cent and Windows Phone in third place with 8.1 per cent.

Apple has seen particular success in Japan. 42 per cent of Docomo’s smartphone sales were Apple products, compared to 55 per cent at KDDI, and a huge 81 per cent at SoftBank.

“With smartphone penetration in Japan lagging well behind Europe and the US, Japan will remain a key growth market for Apple,” Sunnebo said.

And in China, “phablet growth continues unabated”, with devices with a screen larger than 5-inches making up 40 per cent of smartphone sales in March.