It’s no secret that the two hottest phones for some time have come in the form of the Apple iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S lines. The loyalties to the iOS and Android platforms are pretty clear every time we write about these phones and so Android enthusiasts will no doubt be delighted to hear that for the first time ever the iPhone is no longer the best-selling smartphone and has been displaced from top spot by the Samsung Galaxy S3 (S III).
The iPhone has held the crown of bestselling smartphone for some years now and to be honest we wondered if it would ever be dethroned. However the figures clearly show that the Galaxy S3 sold 18 million units globally in Q3 as opposed to 16.2 million units of the iPhone 4S. A few days ago we told how the Galaxy S3 had now sold 30 million units in total since its launch earlier in the year and then discussed whether Apple or Samsung would come out as the top seller of devices over Christmas 2012. News that of the 30 million Galaxy S3’s sold, 18 million units were purchased in Q3, means that the iPhone has been pushed down to second spot.
This is according to data from Strategy Analytics as reported by BGR but before Android fans get too over-excited we should point out that at the end of our title we put, ‘… for now.’ Even though Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Shah points out that the Galaxy S3 accounted for 11% of all smartphones sold in the world over Q3 it is likely that Samsung’s time at the top will be limited following the arrival of the iPhone 5 at the end of September.
One of the reasons why iPhone 4S sales were not stronger in Q3 is because customers were delaying buying an iPhone in anticipation of the upcoming iPhone 5 that was expected in the fall. The iPhone 5 was duly released towards the end of the third quarter and early figures show that it’s extremely likely that the iPhone will regain the title of bestselling smartphone by the end of Q4. The fact that the iPhone 5 has arrived just in time for the busy holiday season means sales should pick up further, on top of the estimated 6 million units that were already sold in Q3 despite it not releasing until September 21st.
Samsung’s joy may be short-lived then and although it seems virtually impossible that the iPhone 5 won’t regain top spot over the holiday season (particularly bearing in mind that the Galaxy S3 has now been out for several months) you just never know what will happen in the smartphone world. We’ll be following this with interest and in the meantime you may be interested in our comparison of three of the hottest smartphones of the moment, the LG Nexus 4, the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5, which you can read here.
We’re really interested to hear what readers think about this. Are you pleased that an Android phone is now the No. 1 bestselling smartphone? Do you think there’s any possibility at all that Samsung will still be wearing the crown by the end of Q4? Let us know with your comments.