Apple, fresh off reporting blistering iPhone sales last quarter, has actually received a thorough whipping from Samsung in shipments of smartphones around the world.
According to new figures released by market analytics firm International Data Corporation (IDC), Samsung moved a staggering 56.3 million smartphone units during the third quarter of the year, giving the company a 31-percent share of the global smartphone market. Apple, by comparison, shipped 26.9 million iPhones (a figure in line with sales Apple reported in its quarterly earnings on Thursday), giving the Cupertino-based company a 15-percent market share.
Put another way, Samsung shipped twice as many smartphones as Apple did during the months of July, August and September in 2012. Not bad for a company that Apple once claimed "slavishly copies" Apple product designs.
IDC attributes Samsung's impressive quarterly shipments to, among other factors, the release of the Galaxy S3 handset, which was available in 145 countries by July 2012. Shortly before the launch of Apple's iPhone 5, Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley reported that in August 2012 the Galaxy S3 briefly became the best-selling smartphone in the U.S., based on figures from the country's top four wireless carriers.
However, iPhone 5 units have been flying off shelves since Apple released the device to the public on Sept. 21, just before the close of the fiscal quarter. The company sold a record 5 million iPhone 5s during the handset's first weekend.
Will Apple close the gap on Samsung's global smartphone sales next quarter? Share your thoughts in the comments (below). Then, browse our gallery to see some of users' biggest complaints about the iPhone 5.
CORRECTION: IDC's figures represent smartphone shipments and do not necessarily reflect final sales of these units.
9 Biggest Complaints About The iPhone 5
[hat tip, HuffPost Tech U.K.]