(Telecompaper) Apple pushed in front of Samsung in the fourth quarter by shipping more smartphones, even if the number of iPhones shipped was lower year-on-year, according to the latest study from IDC. The total number of smartphones shipped worldwide in the fourth quarter fell 6.3 percent from the year before to USD 403.5 million, on the back of a slower than expected 2017 holiday quarter. The trend was very visible in developed markets such as China and the US, where consumers did not rush to upgrade their devices to the newer generation of higher-priced flagship phones. For the full year, a total of 1.472 billion units shipped, from 1473.4 billion the year earlier.