(Telecompaper) Apple surged past Samsung to become the world's top smartphone vendor in the final quarter of 2019 thanks above all to the huge popularity of the iPhone 11, according to the latest report from Strategy Analytics. The company shipped 70.7 million iPhones during the 3-month period ending in December, equivalent to 18.9 percent of the global market, up 7 percent from the 65.9 million units shipped a year earlier.