Samsung Galaxy S3 beats Apple iPhone to become the “world’s best-selling smartphone”

Samsung’s Galaxy S3 has become the world’s best-selling smartphone overtaking Apple’s iPhone 4S sales for the first time.

According to Strategy Analytics, Samsung sold 18 million models, compared with Apple’s 16.2 million sales, in the third quarter of 2012.

Galaxy sales boosted Samsung’s profit with the South Korean phone giant reporting a record profit of $5.9bn (£3.7bn) in three months to September.

The phone’s cracking sales performance is attributed to customers waiting for the iPhone 5 which launched in October.

“We expect the new iPhone 5 to out-ship Samsung’s Galaxy S3 in the coming fourth quarter”, said Strategy Analytics’ Neil Mawston.