The iPhone SE is Britain's most popular smartphone

The iPhone SE is the best-selling smartphone in the UK, outselling the iPhone 6S and Samsung Galaxy S7. Data published by technology analytics company Kantar reveals the smaller, cheaper iPhone SE was the UK's favourite smartphone in the second quarter of 2016.

It was a close-run thing, however, with the SE accounting for 9.2% of smartphone sales and the iPhone 6S making up 9.1%.

More broadly, iOS sales (all models of iPhone) accounted for 37.2% of smartphone sales in the UK, 31.8% in the US, and 18.2% across the largest five European markets (the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain).

UK iPhone sales for the second quarter (April, May and June) grew three percentage points from the same time last year, up from 34.1%, while Android's market share also grew, from 53.2% to 57.3%.

Both of these are in response to tumbling demand for Windows smartphones, with their UK share down heavily from 11.3% to just 4.9%.

Announced in March, the iPhone SE is Apple's cheapest smartphone and blends the design of the iPhone 5 with the software, camera and performance of the iPhone 6S. It costs from £359 SIM-free in the UK, compared to the iPhone 6S, which starts at £539 for the same 16GB of storage.

In the US, combined sales of the iPhone 6S and (larger) iPhone 6S Plus accounted for 15.1% of the smartphone market in the second quarter. Combined sales of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and (larger) S7 Edge made up 14.1% of US sales, giving the win to Apple. The iPhone SE came third with a 5.1% share of the market.

Despite continued strong demand in the US and Europe, Apple's initial success in China is starting to wane. Total iPhone sales accounted for 17.9% of the Chinese smartphone market, down 1.8% compared to last year. Apple now sits behind local companies Huawei (25.7%) and Xiaomi (18.5%).

However, on an individual handset basis the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus combined are still the most popular, despite growing pressure from local rivals. Supply restraints meant the iPhone SE represented just 2.5% of second quarter sales, making Apple the less popular brand overall.

The upcoming iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have huge potential in China and the US, as Kantar data reveals 49% of American and 51% of Chinese Apple users have an iPhone 5S or older, meaning they will be ready for an upgrade come September, when the new models are expected to go on sale.