By Louis Bedigian, Benzinga Staff Writer

Samsung's Galaxy S III has proven to be a formidable foe to Apple's (AAPL) iPhone 4S. During the third quarter, the South Korean-made smartphone sold more units than any other cellular device.

According to Strategy Analytics, a global analysis and forecasting firm, the Galaxy S III moved an impressive 18 million units during the third quarter --  a significant increase over the 5.4 million sold in the second quarter.

"The Galaxy S III captured an impressive 11% share of all smartphones shipped globally and it has become the world's best-selling smartphone model for the first time ever," Strategy Analytics wrote in its report. "A large touch screen design, extensive distribution across dozens of countries, and generous operator subsidies have been among the main causes of the Galaxy S III's success."

Samsung recently announced that it had sold 30 million Galaxy S III units worldwide, making it the company's most successful smartphone to date. The South Korean manufacturer is expected to release a follow-up, presumably titled the Galaxy S IV, in February.

IHS (IHS) iSuppli recently conducted a study and found that the Galaxy S III's display is actually superior to the popular Retina Display contained in the iPhone 5.

"As the first product with in-cell touch, the iPhone 5 represents a major achievement, improving the image quality and reducing the thickness of the smartphone compared to previous models," said Vinita Jakhanwal, director for Small & Medium Displays at IHS. "And although the iPhone 5 still trails the Galaxy S III in the display specs race, the iPhone 5 overall remains thinner than the Galaxy S III, and its display color gamut is more than sufficient for most users."

In addition to the millions of Galaxy S III units that were sold, Samsung also announced that the Galaxy Note II had moved three million units worldwide.

While Apple was defeated during the quarter (possibly because some consumers were waiting for the iPhone 5 to be released), the iPhone maker still managed to sell an impressive 16.2 million iPhone 4S units. This was in addition to the six million iPhone 5 units that Apple sold at the end of the quarter.

Overall, more than 167 million smartphones were sold globally. When combined with standard cellular phone sales (including pay-as-you-go models), cellular device shipments could top 400 million quarterly and reach a 12-month total of 1.5 billion units.

Follow Louis Bedigian at @LouisBedigianBZ