The figures come from a new report published by Jemlit.com, which tracked global shipments across the first nine months of the year.

According to Jemlit, Samsung shifted 180 million phones in that period, which is almost 10 per cent more than Job’s Mob managed. Apple slunk in with 162.9 million units, leaving a 17 million gap that shreds its usual chatter about unstoppable iPhone momentum.

The reversal has been brewing for a while. Until 2019, Samsung routinely shipped about 40 per cent more handsets than Apple, though its volumes dipped as it shifted from budget sellers to its pricey Galaxy S and Z lines. Chinese challengers such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo happily filled the space with competent, cheaper kit, while Job’s Mob’s locked-in ecosystem kept its flock paying up.

That set the stage for Apple to take the top spot in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, it shipped 231.5 million iPhones, two per cent more than Samsung’s 226.5 million, and it repeated that slender advantage the following year. The cult trumpeted a new age of dominance, although the victory glow did not last long once 2025 rolled in.

Samsung regained its footing by leaning on strong premium sales where Chinese rivals still trail, and by giving its Galaxy A line a shove to protect share in regions where Xiaomi, Vivo and Transsion are growing fastest. Its quarterly shipments rose by 0.6 per cent, 7.9 per cent, and 6.3 per cent in 2025, bringing them to 180 million by the end of September. Job’s Mob limped behind.

Quarter four may give Apple its usual seasonal boost, although it will not change the fact that the outfit has led global smartphone shipments in only two of the past ten years.

Jemlit points out that Samsung’s long-term lead remains vast. Between 2014 and 2024, its annual shipments fell from 318 million to 223 million, although it still delivered 3.1 billion smartphones across the decade. Job’s Mob managed roughly 2.3 billion, leaving an 805 million gulf for Cupertino to explain away.