Galaxy S III Is the World’s Best-Selling Smartphone

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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Samsung posted another smartphone milestone, which showed just how much of a threat it is to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). The Samsung Galaxy S III is often described as the only real rival to the iPhone. Apple has done its best to stop distribution of the Samsung device through court challenges to the Galaxy line’s use of Apple patents. That action may work for a while, but Samsung engineers are smart enough to build work-arounds to those patents. According to research firm Strategic Analystics:

Samsung’s Galaxy S3 smartphone model shipped 18.0 million units worldwide during the third quarter of 2012. The Galaxy S3 captured an impressive 11 percent share of all smartphones shipped globally and it has become the world’s best-selling smartphone model for the first time ever. A large touchscreen design, extensive distribution across dozens of countries, and generous operator subsidies have been among the main causes of the Galaxy S3’s success. Apple shipped an estimated 16.2 million iPhone 4S units worldwide for second place, as consumers temporarily held off purchases in anticipation of a widely expected iPhone 5 upgrade at the end of the quarter.

Global Smartphone Shipments and Market Share by Model in Q3 2012

Global Smartphone Shipments by Model (Millions of Units) Q2 ’12 Q3 ’12
Samsung Galaxy S3 5.4 18.0
Apple iPhone 4S 19.4 16.2
Apple iPhone 5 0.0 6.0
Others 128.0 127.6
Total 152.8 167.8
Global Smartphone Marketshare by Model (% of Total) Q2 ’12 Q3 ’12
Samsung Galaxy S3 3.5% 10.7%
Apple iPhone 4S 12.7% 9.7%
Apple iPhone 5 0.0% 3.6%
Others 83.8% 76.0%
Total 100.0% 100.0%

Douglas A. McIntyre

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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