Even though Samsung sold close to double the smartphones that Apple did last quarter, with 50 million sold, which is the largest number of units ever shipped by a single vendor in a single quarter, Apple are still absolutely kicking the asses of the competition when it comes to the industry's operating profits.

Apple have much higher gross margins on their iPhone and iPad's, which completely eclipses its rivals in both revenue, and operating profits. Apple only shipped around 6% of the industry's smartphones and tablets in Q2, but they took a surprising 43% of the industry's revenue, according to Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt. Apple also generated an absolutely huge 77% of the industry's operating profits, even in a seasonally weak period for iPhone sales.

So, now we find ourselves in a position of weirdness with competitor Samsung. The Korean-based company outsold Apple's ever-so-popular iPhone two-to-one, and still couldn't touch Apple's insane grab of industry operating profits. But, things can change quickly, and all it takes is a single release from a company (a new, surprising, 'magical' iPhone), or a constant stream of releases (Galaxy phones that continue to sell more and more) to turn things around.

We should take into consideration that Apple failed to meet analysts expectations for iPhone sales, dropping from 35.1 million sales Q2 2012 quarter, to just 26 million in Q2 2012. Apple blamed the lacklustre iPhone sales on rumors of the new iPhone, but close to the same time, Samsung reported surging sales on their flagship Galaxy S III, surpassing 10 million sales. Apple's next few quarters are going to be interesting, but these latest numbers are something to be surprised about, that's for sure.