Apple just beat Samsung as the world's top smartphone maker

Apple is back on top. 

According to a new report by research firm Strategy Analytics, the company sold more smartphones than any other company in the fourth quarter of 2016, including its biggest rival, Samsung. 

Apple reported selling 78.3 million iPhones in the last quarter of 2016, whereas Samsung sold "just" 77.5 million phones. (Different companies use different financial calendars, which is why Apple considers the same period the first quarter of 2017.)

The reasons for this are twofold: Apple had an amazing quarter, and Samsung's quarter was shoddy as the company had to discontinue its flagship phone, the Galaxy Note7, following numerous reports of its battery overheating and bursting into flames.  Read more...