Last September, the firm's numbers suggested the majority of consumers looking to purchase a handset were committed to picking up an iPhone.
Now, Android has edged ahead of its rival, with 31 percent of consumers planning to buy a handset running Google's OS to iPhone's 30 percent share.
Charting the charts
It's the very success of Android in recent months throws into doubt Nielsen's previous findings, which forecasted iPhone would comfortably be ahead of the pack.
Nielsen claims that, across the last six months, a half of all smartphones sold run Google's platform.
That means Android is selling twice as quickly as Apple's iOS, which accounts for a 25 percent share of all recent purchases.
Pulling ahead
As a result, Nielsen claims Android has the largest install base of any smartphone OS, with 37 percent of the market.
Apple's iOS is falling behind in second position on a 27 percent share, though it remains well ahead of its nearest rival BlackBerry on 22 percent.
[source: Nielsen]
