The company also plans to launch the Galaxy Note III phablet and a lineup of other new smartphones this year.
According to Strategy Analytics, Samsung is expected to widen its gap with Apple in worldwide smartphone sales in 2013 with an increase in sales by 35%, mainly supported by its expanded product line up.
Strategy Analytics executive director Neil Mawston told Reuters: "We expect Samsung to slightly extend its lead over Apple this year because of its larger multitier product portfolio."
Apple is expected to launch the rumoured ‘iPhone Mini’ over the next three years to capture global market share by mainly targeting demand from lower-end smartphone users.
Analysts say that in 2013 global smartphone shipments are expected to drop 27% to just+ 875 million shipments. This is caused by declining growth in several markets including North America, China, the developed Asian economics, and Western Europe.
Samsung is predicted to sell 290 million smartphones during the year, an increase from 215 million in 2012, while Apple is expected to sell 180 million units.
"Samsung plays in more segments and this should enable it to capture more volume than Apple (assuming Apple does not launch an ‘iPhone Mini’ this year)," Mawston said.
