South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. fell far behind Apple Inc. in global smartwatch sales in the third quarter but could overtake the U.S rival in the next quarter once it kicks off global sales of its new model in earnest, a report said Thursday.

Samsung is estimated to have sold 600,000 units of its wearable device in the July-September period, representing a market share of 9.8 percent globally, according to the latest report by Strategy Analytics.

That put the South Korean firm in second place after the iPhone maker, but Samsung was outplayed by Apple, which sold an estimated 4.5 million units of Apple Watches in the cited period.

The top seller's market share came to 72.8 percent, meaning that 3 out of every 4 smartwatches sold globally were made by Apple, the report added.

But Apple's overwhelming presence might be threatened by the Korean runner-up in the next quarter, the market tracker predicted, since Samsung's latest Gear S2 is on its way to global launches in the upcoming months.

Released in Seoul in early September, the first round wearable by Samsung, offered at a cheaper price than the Apple Watch, has been well-received at home and abroad.

The global smartwatch market has grown by more than sixfold to a size of 6.1 million units in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to Strategy Analytics.

The combined market share of other smartwatch manufacturers, including China's Huawei Technologies Co. and Lenovo Group, stood at 16.4 percent, having sold about 1 million units in that period. (Yonhap)