Apple reclaims number one spot over Samsung in smartphone sales

APPLE has leapfrogged Samsung to reclaim the number one spot on smartphone global sales on the back of the huge success of the iPhone 6.

Gartner  released its annual global sales figures which shows the massive boost Apple had on the back of the release of its first phablet, and the slump that Samsung suffered.

Big picture ... the release of the bigger iPhone 6 and 6 Plus pushed Apple back to the top in smartphone sales. Picture: Supplied. Source: AFP

In the final quarter of the year, Apple sold nearly 75 million smartphones ahead of Samsung that sold about 73 million.

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Ahead of the pack ... In the final quarter of the year, Apple sold nearly 75 million smartphones ahead of Samsung that sold about 73 million. Picture: AP/Eric Risberg Source: AAP

While the margin was only small, a look at the change in a year reveals the bigger picture.

In the final quarter of 2013, Apple sold 50 million iPhones and Samsung sold 83 million smartphones. In the year that followed, Apple’s marketshare went from 17.8 per cent to 20.4 per cent while Samsung dropped from 29.5 per cent to 19.9 per cent.

In the report, Gartner principal research analyst Anshul Gupta said “Samsung continues to struggle to control its falling smartphone share”.

The Gartner figures supports the recent research by Strategy Analytics which showed in the final quarter of 2014, Apple accounted for 89 per cent of all smartphone profits compared with all Android phones claiming just 11.3 per cent of profits.