The world's top consumer electronics company Apple Inc.'s products will dominate Australia' s mobile phone market by providing iPhones to approximately 1.6 million Australians in the next 12 months, a media release from Melbourne-based Roy Morgan Research reported on Thursday.

According to the survey conducted by Roy Morgan researchers, of more than 1,900 respondents who intend to upgrade their phones, around 39 percent of them intend to buy a new iPhone. And approximately two-thirds of the respondents who already have one iPhone say they will buy a new one.

In contrast, 21 percent of respondents will choose a Samsung smartphone, while only four percent will purchase a HTC and five percent will buy a Nokia brand, the report said.

Meanwhile, 85 percent of consumers who already own an iPhone, an iPad and a Mac computer intend to upgrade their iPhone, while 59 percent of those who own at least one of Apple's digital products plan to purchase or upgrade their iPhone, the report found.

"Part of Apple's competitive advantage lies within its operating system, which allows multiple devices to share functionality and information seamlessly. Each product operates very similarly, the main difference now being the size of device. This is very attractive for consumers," said George Pesutto, general manager of Roy Morgan Research's media and communications.

And almost one million Australians aged over 14 years old own an iPhone, an iPad and a Mac computer currently, while 8.6 million have at least one of these, since Apple has been establishing successfully a loyal customer base, Pesutto added.

He explained that much of Apple's predicted success may owe to the "multiplier effect" whereby customers own several Apple devices which all work together and thereby encourage customers to stick with the company.

There are currently 5.5 million iPhone users in Australia and iPads occupy about 28 percent in the local tablet market.

Pesutto also said in the media release that the interest in buying new models might increase the lead-up. Apple is due to unveil two new models on September.

Roy Morgan Research is the largest independent Australian research company to provide source of information on financial behavior, readership, voting intentions and consumer confidence. Endi