Samsung appears to be thrashing Apple in the smartphone wars, shipping twice as many handsets as the iPhone maker in the third quarter.

U.S.-based market research firm ABI Research says worldwide smartphone shipments increased 32.8 percent on-year to 155.5 million between July and September. Samsung retained its lead by posting a more than 109 percent rise in shipments, compared to Apple's 57.6 percent increase. Samsung shipped 55.5 million smartphones, while Apple offloaded 26.9 million.

A senior analyst at ABI said Samsung is running away from Apple and the rest of the pack.