iPhone 5 and 4S Top Samsung Galaxy S III in Worldwide Smartphone Shipments in 4Q 2012

Back in November, research firm Strategy Analytics estimated that Samsung's Galaxy S III had topped the list of worldwide smartphone shipments for the third quarter of 2012, taking advantage of a lull in iPhone 4S sales ahead of the iPhone 5 launch to claim the crown.

Unsurprisingly, the firm's latest figures published today find that Apple easily reclaimed the title for the fourth quarter of the year with the iPhone 5 seeing shipments of 27.4 million units for 12.6% of the market.

strategy_analytics_top_phones_4q2012
Not only did the iPhone 5 top the market, but the iPhone 4S also saw more shipments than the Galaxy S III, as shipments of the previous-generation iPhone actually saw an uptick in the fourth quarter after Apple cut pricing.

Apple’s iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S together accounted for 1 in 5 of all smartphones shipped worldwide in Q4 2012. This was an impressive performance, given the iPhone portfolio’s premium pricing. We estimate Samsung’s Galaxy S3 was the world’s third best-selling smartphone model and it shipped 15.4 million units globally, capturing 7 percent share in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Strategy Analytics' numbers are of course an estimate, given that Apple does not break down iPhone sales by model and Samsung does not even release handset shipment data.

The leapfrog game between Apple and Samsung is likely to continue when Samsung launches its new flagship handset, the Galaxy S4, which is expected on March 14.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Everything Apple Announced at WWDC 2025 in 10 Minutes

Monday June 9, 2025 5:21 pm PDT by
At today's WWDC 2025 keynote event, Apple unveiled a new design that will inform the next decade of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS development, so needless to say, it was a busy day. Apple also unveiled a ton of new features for the iPhone, an overhauled Spotlight interface for the Mac, and a ton of updates that make the iPad more like a Mac than ever before. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iPadOS 26 Apple Newsroom

Apple Says iPadOS 26 is Compatible With These iPad Models

Monday June 9, 2025 11:22 am PDT by
Apple today announced that iPadOS 26 will be compatible with the iPad models listed below. iPadOS 26 features a new Liquid Glass design, a menu bar, improved app windowing, and more. iPadOS 26 supports the following iPad models:iPad Pro (M4) iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later) iPad Air (M2 and later) iPad Air (3rd generation and...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple 'Sherlocked' These Apps at WWDC 2025

Wednesday June 11, 2025 7:14 am PDT by
Apple at WWDC previewed a bunch of new features coming in its updated operating systems, but certain changes will have been met with dismay by third-party developers who already offer apps with equivalent or similar features. In other words, their product has been "sherlocked" by Apple. When Apple creates an app or a feature that has functionality found in a third-party app, it is referred...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Says These 13 Vehicle Brands Will Soon Offer iPhone Car Keys

Monday June 9, 2025 2:38 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote today, Apple said that 13...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 26 Includes These 100 New Features and Changes for Your iPhone

Tuesday June 10, 2025 11:59 am PDT by
Apple has announced iOS 26, and the upcoming software update includes a long list of new features and changes for iPhones. The first iOS 26 developer beta is now available, and a public beta will follow next month. The update will be released later this year. iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer. Below, we have provided a high-level overview of 100 new features and changes ...

Top Rated Comments

gpat Avatar
161 months ago
Apple is doomed.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DeathChill Avatar
161 months ago
Now let's compare the combined iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S sales with the combined Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S2 sales, shall we? And if that doesn't help, let's also add the iPhone 4 and the Galaxy S to the mix.

Are those ridiculous statistics really necessary? By now everybody already knows that Samsung sells more UNITS than Apple while Apple still has a larger profit margin because they only sell devices in the high-end price segment.

And unless Apple all of a sudden also enters the low-end price segment (i.e. smartphones WITHOUT contract for LESS than 99 USD), those figures won't magically change.
I can only assume you read the title and not the post. I thought they meant a combined total when I read the title but the chart and article point out that the 4S and 5 both outsold the S3 individually.


\/\/ Read the post.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DeathChill Avatar
161 months ago
Ya, my first thoughts in reading the article was that this is not the way to compare things.

Let's just add in more hardware versions until our total sales exceed their single item sales. :rolleyes:

It's blowing my mind how many people are not bothering to read the article before making these snarky comments.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hpod Avatar
161 months ago
It's pretty obvious people cannot read.

Many above have already attempted to point it out that they're NOT combining the sales of the 4S and the 5, they're comparing them individually.

Stop. Go back. Re read story.

The S3 wasn't outsold by the combined sales of the 4S and 5...it was outsold by both of them, individually.

The 4S outsold the S3. Do you understand that yet?
The 5 ALSO outsold the S3. Are we understanding yet?

Learn to read, morons.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MonkeySee.... Avatar
161 months ago
If you're going to include 4S and 5, then you should also include S2 and Blaze. This is an unfair comparison - to take just the S3 but to include both 4S and 5.

But both of those will be below the SIII so whats the point?

Do people not understand this chart?? :confused:
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Winni Avatar
161 months ago
Now let's compare the combined iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S sales with the combined Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S2 sales, shall we? And if that doesn't help, let's also add the iPhone 4 and the Galaxy S to the mix.

Are those ridiculous statistics really necessary? By now everybody already knows that Samsung sells more UNITS than Apple while Apple still has a larger profit margin because they only sell devices in the high-end price segment.

And unless Apple all of a sudden also enters the low-end price segment (i.e. smartphones WITHOUT contract for LESS than 99 USD), those figures won't magically change.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)