Samsung Galaxy S III

Reports show Samsung shipped twice as many phones as Apple sold in the last quarter. (SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg / June 25, 2012)

Samsung shipped nearly twice as many phones as Apple sold in the last quarter and is also now the top phone seller in the world, surpassing Nokia, according to various reports.

In its latest earnings report, Apple revealed it sold 26 million iPhones, which was about 10 million less than it sold in the previous quarter. The reason for the major drop appears to be consumers holding out on buying an iPhone in anticipation of a newer model sometime this fall.

Meanwhile, Samsung began shipping its flagship phone, the Samsung Galaxy S III, all over the world last quarter. The company earlier this month said it had already shipped 10 million units of the new phone. Business Insider reports that multiple analyst groups estimate Samsung shipped about 50 million units in the last quarter.

Contributing to that number is the fact that Samsung sells more phones than just its all-star Galaxy S III, and it sells those phones across various price ranges, unlike Apple, which for the most part sticks to the high-end market with the latest iPhone starting at about $200 with a two-year contract.

And Samsung's strategy is working out as its latest numbers also pinpoint the tech company as the top phone seller worldwide, surpassing Nokia, which had long held that distinction.

Samsung sold 93 million phones around the globe and saw its market share increase from 20.7% to 25.7% while Nokia sold 83.7 million and saw a decline of 5%, according to Strategy Analytics.

Apple meanwhile holds just 7.2% of the global market.

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