Samsung Galaxy S III Sales Beat Out Apple iPhone Line In Q3 2012

The Samsung Galaxy S III wins! The company’s newest and most advanced smartphone to date was the device sales leader in Q3 2012, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.

According to the company, Samsung sold 18 million S III devices in the quarter. In second place was the Apple iPhone 4S which scored 16.2 million sales. Apple still has a lot to be proud of as sales numbers could have been worse with many customers waiting for the iPhone 5 to arrive before deciding which smartphone to purchase.

As it turns out, Samsung actually witnessed a sales increased after many customers turned away from Apple when iPhone 5 and iOS 6 problems were discovered. Apple has also come under fire for leaving off popular new smartphone features such as near-field communications (NFC).

Thanks to its massive sales volume for the Samsung Galaxy S III, the company managed to pull down a record profit of $7.4 billion. Samsung has doubled its profit from the same time one year earlier. In the last year, Samsung has sold 58 million handsets among its full range of low-end to high-end smartphones and feature phones.

With the iPhone 5 arriving just in time for the holiday shopping season, Strategy Analytics predicts Apple’s resurgence in Q4. When the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 were combined, Q3 sales reached 22.5 million units.

Q4 sales levels for Apple are expected to surpass 26 million units if supply chain issues no longer hinder iPhone 5 production.

So we have to ask: Are you on the Apple iPhone bandwagon, or have you made the jump to the Samsung Galaxy S III?