Apple Daily: Apple Tops Samsung in Smartphone Sales, Hires Own Security Force

A new report shows just how impressive Apple's fourth quarter for 2014 was, and this one claims iPhones finally outsold Samsung handsets. In addition, Apple's now saying "no" to contracted security guards for most of its operations, opting instead to create its own security force.

Gartner: Apple Overtook Samsung in Smartphone Sales in Q4 2014

Apple's explosive fourth quarter for 2014 was reportedly good enough for the Cupertino company to emerge as the world's largest smartphone maker. According to a new report from Gartner, Apple beat Samsung in worldwide smartphone sales for the first time since 2011, thanks to 74.8 million smartphone sales compared to Samsung's 73 million.

Impressive, but it's ultimately a tough call. Back in January, Strategy Analytics reported that Apple had actually tied for the fourth quarter. And the same cautionary footnote expressed then remains — namely, that Samsung doesn't officially report the numbers for its smartphone sales. As a consequence, most Samsung figures reported by research firms like Gartner are based on highly educated guesses.

It's also important to note that Apple may have dominated the fourth quarter, but its sales considerably lagged behind of those of Samsung for the entire year. The Korean tech giant sold an estimated 307.6 million smartphones in 2014, accounting for a 24.7 percent share of the market, while Apple's 191.4 iPhone sales allowed it to close the year with a 15.4 percent share of the smartphone market.

Apple is Hiring Its Former Contracted Security Guards for Full-Time, In-House Positions

Apple CEO Tim Cook once said that he wanted Apple to be a "force for good" under his tenure, and he appears to be extending that philosophy to a greater percentage of the workforce associated with the company. According to the San Jose Mercury News, Apple will no longer use contracted security guards for the majority of its operations. Instead, the guards will be members of Apple's own security team, and they'll share the same benefits enjoyed by other employees, such as full health insurance coverage, parental leave of absence, and contributions to retirement funds.

That doesn't mean Apple will stop using contracted security guards entirely — indeed, the guards at Apple's upcoming "Spring Forward" event on Monday largely won't be a part of Apple's workforce. Still, Apple has apparently already puts its words into action, as MacRumors reports that some security guards with "Apple Security" shirts were reportedly seen watching over San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center over the weekend as crews prepared for the upcoming event.

Notably, most of the new security hires will come from the same group of contracted guards that's already used to working with Apple.

"We will be hiring a large number of full-time people to handle our day-to-day security needs," an Apple spokeswoman told the San Jose Mercury News. "We hope that virtually all of these positions will be filled by employees from our current security vendor and we're working closely with them on this process."

Follow this article's writer, Leif Johnson, on Twitter.