--- description: Apple topped rival Samsung in terms of worldwide smartphone sales last quarter, according to a new estimate. title: New Report Says Apple Is Now the World's Biggest Smartphone Maker image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99f8241fee3b8b91/698781f52dce016c3a9dddac/apple-samsung-sales.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Technology](/tag/technology/) ## Technology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # New Report Says Apple Is Now the World's Biggest Smartphone Maker  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 3, 2015 10:28 PM CUT  The Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus at their launch at the Apple Omotesando Store on Sept. 19, 2014 in Tokyo, Japan. The Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus at their launch at the Apple Omotesando Store on Sept. 19, 2014 in Tokyo, Japan.Chris McGrath—Getty Images  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 3, 2015 10:28 PM CUT Apple is now the world’s biggest smartphone maker in terms of worldwide sales at the end of last year, according to a new estimate that puts its fourth quarter figures ahead of rival Samsung’s numbers. While Apple reported worldwide sales of 74.8 million smartphones during the fourth quarter of 2014, a [report](http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2996817 "undefined") by research firm Gartner published Tuesday estimates Samsung sold 73 million units during the same period. If accurate — Samsung doesn’t report out its smartphone sales — that would mean Apple overtook Samsung as the world’s top smartphone maker by global sales for the first time since late 2011. The new figures come on the heels of a recent report by Strategy Analytics that said [Apple tied Samsung](http://time.com/3728299/samsung-galaxy-s6-apple-iphone/ "undefined") in worldwide shipments during the fourth quarter, which includes sold and unsold smartphones. Apple’s strongest sales tend to occur during Q4 due to its fall iPhone releases. Last year’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus offered the sales push Apple needed to beat out Samsung, per Gartner’s data: But Apple still has a ways to go if it wants to beat Samsung in annual global smartphone sales — a goal that seems possible given how Apple’s annual sales are rising faster than Samsung’s: Here’s a look at the history of Apple’s iPhone: ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3730773/apple-samsung/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3730773/apple-samsung/"},"headline":"New Report Says Apple Is Now the World's Biggest Smartphone Maker","datePublished":"2015-03-03T22:28:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:04:33.768Z","description":"According to data from research firm Gartner","url":"https://time.com/3730773/apple-samsung/","keywords":["Technology","Tech","Apple","Samsung","galaxy","Smartphones","Lenovo","iPhone","xiaomi","Huawei"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99f8241fee3b8b91/698781f52dce016c3a9dddac/apple-samsung-sales.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jack Linshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99f8241fee3b8b91/698781f52dce016c3a9dddac/apple-samsung-sales.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Apple Samsung Sales","caption":"Apple Samsung Sales","creditText":"Chris McGrath—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/technology/","name":"Technology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3730773/apple-samsung/","name":"New Report Says Apple Is Now the World's Biggest Smartphone Maker"}}]}] ```