Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) may have the world’s most recognizable handset – the iPhone – but currently, the Cupertino, CA company is at the mercy of South Korea’s Samsung and its Galaxy S3.

Reuters surveyed a group of market analysts Monday, and the consensus is that Samsung extended its lead over Apple in Q2 2012 due to the launch of the Galaxy S3.

The survey involved 41 analysts, and on an average, they forecasted 50 million smartphones sold in this period, as opposed to an average of 30.5 million iPhones. It is widely believed that the Galaxy S3 will be instrumental in generating record profits for Samsung in the second quarter of 2012. According to Francisco Jeronimo of IDC, one of the analysts polled, the Galaxy S2 would also play a major role in what could be Samsung’s most profitable quarter ever.

The analysts credited Samsung’s diverse product line and sound business decisions as the reasons for their dominance of the smartphone market. While Apple only offers the high-end iPhone, Samsung offers both feature phones and smartphones. These phones can be launched at any given time of the year, whereas the iPhone mainly relies on a one-year life cycle.

The last week of July should be a huge one for those following the smartphone wars more for the business side of things than anything else. Apple and Samsung will be announcing their calendar Q2 2012 numbers on July 24 and July 27 respectively – as a side note, Apple’s second quarter of 2012 would actually be their fiscal third quarter.