Q3 2012: Samsung Galxy SIII named as top-selling smartphone.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Q3 2012: Samsung Galxy SIII named as top-selling smartphone.

Samsung’s Galaxy S3 overtook Apple’s iPhone 4S to become the world’s best-selling smartphone in Q3, according to Strategy Analytics – though the firm expects Apple to regain the crown in the current quarter.

The South Korean vendor’s flagship Android device clocked up sales of 18 million in the quarter, giving it a 10.7 percent share of the global smartphone market. Sales of the device more than tripled from the 5.4 million shipped in Q2.

“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,” said Neil Shah, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics.

Samsung itself only sporadically publishes smartphone sales figures. However, it confirmed earlier this week that the Galaxy S3 has surpassed 30 million global sales since launching five months ago.

Apple is said to have sold 16.2 million units of the iPhone 4S and 6 million of its successor, the iPhone 5, for 9.7 percent and 3.6 percent shares, respectively.

There were 127.6 million smartphones from other vendors shipped in the quarter, says Strategy Analytics, accounting for 76 percent of the market.

“We expect the new iPhone 5 to outship Samsung’s Galaxy S3 in [Q4] and Apple should soon reclaim the title of the world’s most popular smartphone model,” added Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics.