Apple surpasses Samsung to become world's largest smartphone maker, says research firm Gartner

Apple's record smartphone sales in Q4 in 2014 have prompted analysts to declare that the iPhone maker has retaken the lead as the world's largest smartphone manufacturer.

Gartner, one of the industry's top tracking and research firms, also declared Apple as the winner over Samsung as its latest report noted that Apple edged out Samsung by selling 74.8 million iPhones, narrowly edging out Samsung's 73 million smartphones sold in Q4, reported The Verge.

The report said that the figures marked a dramatic reversal from a year ago, when Samsung sold 83.3 million smartphones to soundly best Apple's sales of 50.2 million iPhones.