We knew this was coming, but now it's more official-ish.
Samsung is the world's biggest smartphone dealer, beating Apple soundly in the third quarter of this year, according to data compiled by Strategy Analytics.
Strategy Analytics says Samsung "shipped" 28 million smartphones versus Apple's 17.1 million.
Tiny caveat: In its earnings release Apple says it sold 17.1 million smartphones. We don't think Samsung is stuffing 11 million smartphones in the channel to take the top spot, but it's worth making a note of the distinction in language.
Apple was the top smartphone dealer in Q2, but it had a down quarter as consumers waited for the iPhone 4S. It's unlikely to return to the top spot unless it has a mammoth fourth quarter.
And for all the Apple bulls out there who will predictably say, "So what, Apple has all the profits." You're right! Apple earns considerably more more money on the iPhone than Samsung earns on smartphones.
However, as we've pointed out over and over: This is a platform war. The more success Samsung has with the Android platform, the worse it is for Apple and iOS.
And the more phones Samsung sells, the fewer iPhones Apple can sell.
