APPLE is taking the smartphone war right to Google by launching a major campaign to get users to ditch their Android phones, and offering them cash to switch to an iPhone.

The tech giant launched the provocatively titled “Switch from Android” website and a series of five YouTube videos as part of its campaign, in a sizeable push that hasn’t been seen since Apple’s “Get a Mac” advertisements launched more than a decade ago.

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Promising “life is easier on iPhone,” the website touts the Apple phones’ cameras, speed, and customer support but it also has a not-so-subtle dig at Google’s smartphone security record.

“Unlike many other phones, important data on your iPhone is encrypted from the start and protected by your passcode,” the Apple website reads.

“Apple apps like Maps and Safari help to keep private all the places you go and the sites you visit, and Apple will not sell your information to anyone for any reason.”

The website also reiterates Apple’s offer of up to $250 as a trade-in for your old phone, although a Samsung Galaxy S6 only earns $150 in credit.

Apple’s move comes as its grip on the smartphone market climbed slightly in the last three months of 2016, according to research firm Gartner, but not nearly as much as Google Android’s share of the market.

More than 81 per cent of the world’s smartphones use Google’s software, compared to almost 18 per cent that run Apple’s system.

Samsung was also the world’s top smartphone maker in 2016, claiming more than 20 per cent of all sales, compared to Apple’s 14 per cent.

But the Apple iPhone 7 claimed the title of most popular smartphone in Australia in March, according to Kantar Worldpanel, even though it’s swamped by Android rivals.

Apple previously published a guide on how to switch from Android to an iPhone to lure users in 2014, before releasing an official Move to iOS app in 2015.

Both followed the successful “Get a Mac” advertising campaign that ran from 2006 to 2009, featuring Justin Long personifying Apple’s computers.