Apple’s iOS remains the top selling smartphone platform in the US, according to a new report released Monday by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

Looking at the 12-week period ending November 25, 2012, Kantar said Apple’s market share was at 53.3 percent. This is the first time iOS has broken the 50 percent barrier, according to the research.

In the same period, Kantar said that Android sales declined 10.9 percent, leaving it with 41.9 percent of the market.

“The iPhone 5 has been successful this period however we also see that Apple’s older models – the iPhone 4S and 4 have also contributed to the growing share of iOS,” said Kantar Worldpanel ComTech analyst Mary-Ann Parlato. “This is particularly the case for first-time smartphone iPhone buyers where we see the older models still selling well amongst this group.”

An interesting note in the research is the breakdown of iPhone purchasers in November. According to Kantar, 27% upgraded from another smartphone OS, 34% upgraded from a previous iPhone and, 40% upgraded to their first smartphone.