It’s official – the Galaxy S III is a real competitor to the iPhone. Samsung revealed this weekend that it has sold more than 40 million Galaxy S III smartphones. That’s as many units of the Galaxy S II that have sold in the nearly two years it has been available. The original Galaxy S only managed 24 million units sold. In total, the three Galaxy S smartphones Samsung has released have sold more than 100 million units.

This news comes just as Apple is reportedly cutting orders for iPhone 5 components. Although the iPhone 5 was another a fast-selling record-breaker for the company, it appears that the anticipated demand for the device hasn’t materialized. The announcement has led to another drop in Apple’s stock price, which has been falling since the release of the latest iPhone.

Samsung’s stock, on the other hand, has been steadily increasing since the release of the Galaxy S III. The Korean company’s latest announcement included the fact that average daily sales of their flagship Android smartphone are currently 190,000. Samsung has effectively taken over the high-end Android smartphone market, causing companies such as HTC to falter.

Rumors are currently putting the release of the iPhone 5S (or whatever it will be called) and the Galaxy S IV will be released at the beginning of this summer. With the competition finally heating up, 2013 looks to be another transformative year for smartphone markets.

(via BGR)