Samsung Galaxy S III Overtakes iPhone 4S To Become World’s Best-Selling Smartphone

The iPhone 4S loses its crown to the enemy.

The Samsung Galaxy S III, this year’s hottest Android handset, has overtaken the iPhone 4S to become the world’s best-selling smartphone. One in every nine smartphones sold during the third-quarter of 2012 were Galaxy S IIIs, helping Samsung ship an estimated 18 million units during the three-month period.

In comparison, the iPhone 4S shipped 16.2 million units. That’s not too far off, and it’s even more impressive when you consider that fans were anticipating the impending launch of the iPhone 5 — which had a detrimental impact on sales of Apple’s previous-generation iPhones.

In terms of popularity, the Galaxy S III claimed a 10.7% share of the global smartphone market, while the iPhone 4S claimed just 9.7%.

How long the Galaxy S III will hold onto its crown remains to be seen. The iPhone 5 became the fastest-selling iPhone when it launched back in September, and Apple’s manufacturing partner, Foxconn, has revealed that it’s struggling to keep up with demand of the device.

As things stand, the iPhone 5 is still facing a 3-4 week shipping delay at the Apple online store, though it can be obtained through Apple retail stores and third-party resellers much quicker than that.

Apple latest smartphone may reclaim its predecessor’s title later on, then, but for now, Samsung has the most successful smartphone ever released.