ANDROID-powered Samsung phones are the UKs favourite smartphone, with the Samsung Galaxy S3 topping the mobile sales chart for the ninth month in a row.
The second and third most popular models are also made by the South Korean manufacturer, with the Galaxy Ace and the Galaxy S2 in second and third place.
Cheaper Nokia phones are also rising stars, while Apple is losing its edge, according to the uSwitch Mobile tracker, which is based on monthly sales, pre-orders and live searches.
Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch.com, says: “After December’s mobile top ten, which read like a smartphone Santa wish-list, it’s been all change in January. The UK’s loyalty to brand Samsung is unwavering, but beyond that we’ve seen customers shaking up the rankings, leaving Apple’s 4S for dust in favour of offerings from Lexus and Nokia.
“And just as we’ve been reading about detoxes and ‘dryathlons’, the mobile market is no stranger to a bit of January belt-tightening, with tech fans looking for sensible deals following a seasonal gadget binge.
“Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if consumers stick with these sub-£10 deals in the face of exciting new phones coming onto the market.
“A swathe of bargain smartphones like the C2-01 have leapt back into the chart as a residual effect of gifting and January sales, whilst canny consumers also wait to see high-end devices around the corner.”
The iPhone 5 fell one place in the top ten rankings, coming in at No 7, while the older iPhone 4S fell five places to No 10.
Apple is expected to take a further hit after the launch of the BlackBerry Z10, which has many similar features to an iPhone but is almost £50 cheaper.