According to the stats, there are more than 170 smartphone companies functioning in the world right now, and all these companies try to attract consumers through innovation, technology, and creativity.
But out of these 170 brands, there are two smartphone brands that have ascended as the world’s most successful smartphone brands and major competitors in the last 6-10 years. And these two companies are US-based ‘Apple’ and South Korea-based ‘Samsung.’ Apple iPhones and Samsung Android Phones are extremely popular among smartphone users worldwide.
According to a study, a third of smartphone users in the world use a Samsung smartphone. Similarly, there are around 6 billion smartphone users worldwide, of which 1 billion use an Apple smartphone.
On one side, both these brands try to launch new models of smartphones with appealing new features to capture a higher market share. Parallelly, users of both brands remain engaged in debates on the internet to boast about the supremacy of their smartphone brand over the other.
Today, we will do a comparative analysis of both brands based on their Market Share, Total Number of Sales, and Smartphone features. Based on this analysis, you can assume which brand is leading in the global smartphone race.
Let’s start with Apple. It was on 1st April 1976 when two college dropouts, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, founded Apple. They started with the Apple Computer, and they named it ‘Apple I Computer.’ They sold this computer without any Monitor or Keyboard. Later, in the year 1977, they started selling the Apple computer with Monitor and Keyboard. They named it ‘Apple II Computer.’
Apple II Computer started a revolution in the computer industry by introducing Color Graphics for the first time in computer history.
In 2007, after 3 decades after its establishment, Apple introduced its very first smartphone, the ‘iPhone,’ and the launch of the iPhone became a major turning point in the history of Apple. iPhone is one of the most successful tech products in the world, and it is also the main source of revenue for the Cupertino-based company.
Today, Apple has a diverse set of products like the Apple Watch, MacBook, iMac, Apple Buds, and many types of software services. Still, more than 50% of Apple’s revenue comes from the sales of iPhones only.
Now, coming to the Samsung company, it took the South Korean Giant a long time to attain Success and Fame. In the beginning, Samsung was a trading company. Byung-Chull founded it in 1938, and he used to export noodles and other locally produced goods to different cities in Korea and China.
With time, Samsung expanded itself into other industries like Insurance, Security, and Retail. In the 1960s, Samsung stepped up its feet in Electronic Goods and started making Semiconductors, TVs, and Telecommunication Devices. Samsung launched its first phone in 1988 and later released many phones with a different sets of features. However, none of these phones lived up to the competition against Apple.
Then in 2019, Samsung launched its first flagship smartphone, ‘Galaxy,’ and the huge rivalry between the two tech giants began. Samsung’s Galaxy Smartphones have been giving a tough neck-to-neck fight to Apple’s iPhones since then.
Now let’s talk about the Market Share of both smartphone brands. According to the data of the Bankless Times, Samsung has recorded the highest number of smartphone sales in the first quarter of 2022. Samsung sold a total of 73 million smartphones in 2022, capturing 23.4% of the global smartphone market share.
Apple, on the other hand, is the second most successful smartphone brand of 2022. It sold 56 million iPhones, capturing 18% of the smartphone market.
Moving on to the revenue of both smartphone brands. If we look at the data, Apple made a whopping 196 billion dollars of revenue from the sales of its iPhones, and this was 44% of the total smartphone market revenue.
On the other hand, Samsung made 72 billion dollars of revenue from its smartphone sales in 2022, which was 11% higher than that of 2021. Samsung revealed that its midrange and premium smartphones contributed the most to this growth. Galaxy S, A, and M series phones were the highest-selling smartphone models of 2021.
Apart from that, Samsung’s foldable phones are also attracting customers on a large scale. And according to a report by Counterpoint Technology Market Research. Samsung’s foldable smartphones are currently dominating the market. Samsung revealed that it sold 10 million foldable phones in 2021.
Samsung believes that the demand and sale of foldable phones will increase exponentially in the coming times, and foldable phones will be responsible for more than 50% of the shipment of Samsung’s premium smartphones.
As of now, Apple is dominating the premium smartphone segment, but Samsung believes that foldable smartphones can change the whole scenario. Samsung can dominate the premium phone segment in the coming times.
Now let’s discuss the features at last. If we talk about native services and the app ecosystem, there is no comparison between the two brands. Samsung relies on Google for all of its Apps and Services, whereas Apple has its own App Store and services, which are considered more superior and fluid than those of Google.
If we take a look at the developer ecosystem, Samsung doesn’t have its own developer ecosystem; it again depends on Google for that. In contrast, Apple has its own developer ecosystem, which keeps on updating from time to time with new Apps and services.
Apart from these, if we talk about security, Samsung is considered less secure than Apple. No doubt, Samsung has Knox Security System in its smartphones. Still, Google collects the personal details of users for advertising purposes, and Samsung’s dependency on Google somewhere decreases its trust in users.
But Apple is also not 100% trustworthy; Apple has admitted that its iOS 15 has recorded users’ conversations with the Siri App several times.
Lastly, Apple Phones are relatively more expensive than Samsung and other smartphone brands. That’s why iPhones have become a status symbol today. Samsung also makes expensive smartphones, but it targets a set of diverse price ranges, catering to the need of every economic class.
So, today we discussed the Global Smartphone Race and which company is dominating it. Looking at the revenue, Apple is dominating it. Looking at the number of smartphone sales, Samsung is dominating it. But looking at the overall features and the status symbol, Apple is again dominating it.
Overall, Apple is far ahead in this global smartphone race, but Samsung is all set to give tough competition to the Cupertino-based company with its range of foldable smartphones.
What do you think about which company will dominate the smartphone market in the near future? Let us know in the comments!
As a dedicated editor for Global Web Wire, I bring a wealth of expertise to my role in covering technology, gadgets and social media trends. Since September 2022, I have been committed to producing well-researched and thought-provoking articles and reports in these areas, leveraging my in-depth knowledge and passion for these subjects to deliver insightful and valuable content to our readers. Whether exploring the latest advancements in technology or delving into the social media landscape, I approach each topic with the goal of providing a nuanced and well-rounded perspective that engages and informs.