Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy S4 was dethroned by Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5S, which became the best-selling smartphone in the world in September, data showed on Wednesday.

According to the data compiled by Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Technology Market Research, Apple's iPhone 5S became the bestselling phone last month in just 10 days of its release, ending the Galaxy S4's several month reign.

Samsung took the No. 1 position in the premium smartphone market of phones above the US$400 price point in May this year, displacing Apple Inc. for the first time.

The Apple iPhone 5C came in fourth place. But Samsung's lineup was strong overall as six of its models were in the top 10 and 12 models were in the top 20, according to the research firm.

Samsung also had hit products all across the different product segments. The Galaxy S4, Galaxy S3, Galaxy 3 mini, Galaxy S Duos and Galaxy Note II were all selling at different price points.

Samsung's products took 60 percent of the top 20 list and 50 percent of the top 100 list.

"Samsung currently has the best balanced product portfolio in the industry. Going into October, the Note III was doing extremely well, and with only five days of sales in September, it already had entered the top 10 list. So sales should be robust even though they may not be able to climb to the top and challenge Apple's iPhone 5S in the holiday season," the research firm said.

The research firm said it expects the iPhone 5S to continue to be the bestselling model throughout the year, but the new Note III will be a strong challenger with the Galaxy S4 also maintaining sales as prices fall. (Yonhap News)