Apple's new iPhone 5 is soon releasing, but Samsung has it under control.

It was revealed Thursday that global sales for the Galaxy S3 smartphone have surpassed 20 million in a little more than three months.

According to the Associated Press, Samsung Electronics Co. launched the flagship smartphone powered by Google's Android operating system in Europe in late May. The release schedule was about three months ahead of new phone announcement by rivals Apple, Nokia and Motorola.

Samsung says brisk sales of the S III are helping it retain dominance in the smartphone market. Strategy Analytics says Samsung overtook Apple in worldwide smartphone shipments in 2011.

Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 5 at a special event on Sept. 12, and will release the phone Sept. 21.

Accordnig to the Clarion Ledger, a report said that the Galaxy S3 overtook the iPhone 4 in U.S. sales in August, and it is the first time since October 2011.

"The weaker iPhone 4S sales likely aren't an indictment on the demand for Apple products, but merely a pause as consumers wait for the next iteration, commonly referred to as the iPhone 5," writes CNET's Roger Cheng.

Apple's iPhone has been the world's top-selling smartphone since it was launched in 2007. Apple has some more than 130 million iPhones, and the iPhone 5 is expected to be a blockbuster hit, according to analysts.

The Clarion Ledger calls Samsung's sells "a big statement on the heels of the iPhone 5."

Samsung said brisk sales of the S III are helping it retain dominance in the $219 billion global smartphone market.

However, this may be just for some time. Many Apple customers are waiting for the highly anticipated next generation iPhone 5. The iPhone 4S has had a decline in sales, but many believe people are holding off to buy the next iPhone.

"With the iPhone 4S over 10 months old and consumers anticipating the iPhone 5 launch, our August checks indicated weaker iPhone 4S sales at AT&T/Verizon/Sprint," the report by Canaccord Genuity said, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 is powered by a quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, includes an 8-megapixel back camera and a front-facing camera and boasts a large 4.8-inch Super AMOLED Pentile HD display with "Retina-like" pixel density, according to Pop Herald. It currently runs on Android Ice Cream Sandwich, but reports say that it is scheduled to receive the official Android Jelly Bean software update next quarter.

While the iPhone 5 is highly anticipated, many reviews say that Samsung's new smartphone packs its own punches.

"You can bet the iPhone 5 will feel denser and more expensive in-hand and will continue to offer the beginner's usability benefits of iOS over Android. However, it'll also be a lot less flexible - using a new proprietary socket and lacking a memory card slot - and you can bet that by the time it's released the Samsung Galaxy S3 will be substantially cheaper to own," reported Trusted Reviews.

Reports say that the new iPhone 5 will have a bigger display, be thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4S, and will be able to run on 4G LTE technology. It was also said that it will feature a 9-pin mini connector and it will be equipped with a new technology called in-cell, which integrates touch sensors into the LCD, making it unnecessary to have a separate touch-screen layer. This creates a thinner screen and improves the quality of displayed images. It will also feature tiny SIM cards called nano-SIMS.