Samsung Reportedly Dethrones Apple as Top Smartphone Vendor in Q3 2011

[peteyD]

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A strong Samsung makes for a better iPhone, so this good news. So long as there is competition, we all win, Android and iOS users alike.

 

[dchap02]

To each their own. Samsung makes cool products but I still wouldn't leave Apple. These numbers are always scewed anyways.

 

[jamesnajera]

I like watching peopple bashing one company when they had praised another one for the same exactly reason.

Ones praise Apple and bashh Samsung, others bash Apple and praise Samsung.

If they have stock in one I would understand it, but if they doesn't, I can't understand this "religious" positioning

Just have stock in both.

 

[nelmat]

Apple SOLD 17 million+ of a single phone.

Samsung SHIPPED 20 million of many, many models in total - and do we know how many of those have actually sold?!

Units Shipped != Units sold. That's the important figure and all that matters.

 

[carmenodie]

Pah lease! Sammy has like 70 different cell phones world wide. Probably more. On the other hand Apple has one. 17 million of one phone sold.

 

[Vulpinemac]

Fiscal year ≠ (does not equal) Calendar year

This actually WAS Q4... I'm not sure what the hell this article is talking about. Apple's fiscal year ended.

This concept is confusing to many, especially when they are used so interchangeably about businesses. Blyan, you are quite correct that Apple's fiscal year 2011 is over, but the calendar year has another 2.5 months to go--which also happens to be Apple's normal highest-grossing quarter of the year, whether you speak fiscal or calendar.

Personally, I agree that Samsung managed a one-off simply because people were waiting for the next iPhone model; we'll just have to wait and see if they can maintain the push. Considering Samsung's own complaints about competition within the Android environment, we could see some significant changes over the next two years.

 

[gatearray]

Apple SOLD 17 million+ of a single phone.

Samsung SHIPPED 20 million of many, many models in total - and do we know how many of those have actually sold?!

Units Shipped != Units sold. That's the important figure and all that matters.

But it's worse than that!

This figure of 20m is not official, it's just hearsay and unsubstantiated. Unless Samsung reveals their actual sales in public or in an earnings call (which they refuse to do) this is a non-story and purely speculative.

 

[Judas1]

Apple SOLD 17 million+ of a single phone.

Samsung SHIPPED 20 million of many, many models in total - and do we know how many of those have actually sold?!

Units Shipped != Units sold. That's the important figure and all that matters.

As the article states, the two are not equivalent. But a valid point it makes is that if stores weren't selling Samsung phones, they wouldn't continue to have them shipped. So they are comparale to an extent.

 

[jamesryanbell]

Lesser phones with a lesser operating system. Have fun with them.

No fanboy. Only truth.

 

[ChazUK]

Pah lease! Sammy has like 70 different cell phones world wide. Probably more. On the other hand Apple has one. 17 million of one phone sold.

Can you list the 70 smartphones that Samsung shipped over the last quarter?

All 70 models please.

 

[Vulpinemac]

Yeah because dual core 1.2ghz 1gb ram and amoled+ is low end junk.

He did say "most", not "all". What we're not likely to see is a breakdown of sales by model and I'm absolutely certain Samsung offers a lot more than one single model of smartphone. The GIIS may be a great high-end phone, but you can't tell me all the rest of Samsung's phones have the same hardware in them.

 

[Kaibelf]

"Several observers have also noted that Samsung's number refers to shipments while Apple's refers to sales, although those metrics may not be vastly different. Apple's "sales" numbers actually refer to sales into the distribution channel rather than end users"

I suspect that in next quarter's report, given the fact that the 4S is sold out everywhere, yes, the metrics will be vastly different.

 

[bearbear]

Since when do mac users care about #s, considering OS X is at what, 12% market share? Yet I would use it over Windows any day. A lot of hypocrisy going around this thread.

 

[citi]

Cash is good but the future belongs to Samsung.

Yet, Google purchased Motorola. Not so sure about that future.

 

[Consultant]

Shipment =/= Sales

 

[Mr. Gates]

How come when Apple outsells Samsung it's because the iPhone is so great, but when Samsung outsells Apple you guys start claiming quality>quantity?



Most of the people in this thread are what give MacRumors and Apple users their bad name

I know !

It's comical how defensive Apple fans get.

Even the contributors know it and have to include "Reportedly" in the title

Otherwise people would go nuts.
________________________________________________________

Good for you Samsung ! Keep up the competition.

The upcoming Samsung Focus S is looking pretty sweet too !
(watch people get all butt hurt over that statement)

 

[guzhogi]

Question: this is fro last quarter right? Before the iPhone 4S was announced, right? Couldn't this partially be due to people holding out for the iPhone 4S?

 

[Stella]

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Don't forget the high return rate. 2 people i know that bought the SG2 are returning them.

LOL. A sample of 2 dedicates over all trends!

Pah lease! Sammy has like 70 different cell phones world wide. Probably more. On the other hand Apple has one. 17 million of one phone sold.

And? If manufacturer A with 10 smartphones sells more than a company with 3 smartphones , out selling is still outselling. Manufacturer A wants to provide the customer with more options. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. I guess people have to justify why Apple may not be #1 smartphone platform in term of sales.

BTW - Apple have three different smartphone models currently being sold: 3GS, 4 and 4S.

---

Anyway it doesn't matter if Apple are not #1 sellers. As long as iOS has a healthly eco-system and user base ... what does it matter? * It doesn't *! Put away your egos, there's more important things to worry about in your lives!

 

[samcraig]

What I love is the current battle in this thread.

Is it that Apple makes a better phone and held out on delivery of the 4s. Or is it that Samsung is reporting SHIPPED vs SOLD.

I guess when you're grasping at straws to try and prove why Apple is ALWAYS better it's easy to get confused which point is most important.

Again - who cares. Enjoy the phone you have. None of this is affecting YOUR bottom line. Even if you're a stock holder because this news isn't going to sink either stock - nor will it raise it significantly.

 

[Verkonika]

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Mention a single phone model made by Samsung that can claim the title of best selling smartphone...

 

[Kaibelf]

Can you list the 70 smartphones that Samsung shipped over the last quarter?

All 70 models please.

Let's simplify, and assume worldwide they have 10 smartphone models. And let's stay with the common knowledge that Apple was offering 2 models at the time. That means that, evenly split, each model would have sold 2 million, and evenly split each of Apple's models sold about 8.5 million. Therefore, each Apple handset is roughly selling 4.25x the number of the Samsung ones in this scenario. i see no reason to believe that Samsung has had a single runaway hit, and I am pretty sure they have more than 10 models around the world, however.

 

[Vulpinemac]

The difference in cash is easy to explain. First, Samsung spends 8 times more than Apple on R&D. Second, the capital expenditures. Apple spends $5.7 billion in 2011. Samsung? $38 billion:

Overall the Samsung Group pledges to spend 43.1 trillion won ($US 38.35 billion) in 2011 for all its businesses, up about 18% from 2010. Of that, about 10.3T won ($9.16B) will be in capital expenditures and facility investments for its semiconductor business -- a dropoff from 2010's ~12T won ($10.7B). (The company also pledges 12.1T won/$10.77B for R&D in 2011, up 14%, and 5.4T won/$4.80B each in LCDs and OLEDs.)


Cash is good but the future belongs to Samsung.

You have to remember that Samsung has to spread that R&D a lot thinner than Apple, however. Considering the myriad of different products they produce compared to Apple's more limited product lines, those numbers balance out. Apple doesn't design and manufacture televisions, stereo systems, radios (boom boxes), cameras and so many other consumer and corporate devices that Samsung does. As such, the R&D money Apple spends goes into a much narrower channel focused on what the company focuses on.

Now personally, I'm now waiting to see how Apple continues to move forward over the next decade. Will they keep advancing the technologies, or will they stagnate and become Just Another Computer Manufacturer?

 

[johncrab]

Don't Care.

 

[saturn88]

Quality > Quantity

Where is iPhone quality?

Screen? Already 3 manufacturers ship Super AMOLED phones: Sam, Nok and Mot including larger sizes and HD resolution. Apple is still using the old LCD tech.

Camera? 6 month old Galaxy SII and HTC MyTouch both beat brand new iPhone 4S in camera department: http://www.pcworld.com/article/241955-2/smartphone_camera_battle_iphone_4s_vs_the_android_elite.html

OS? Android had voice command and notifications for 2 years. Apple just came out with it.

And were is 4G, NFC, true multitasking?

 

[Jerome Morrow]

They can ship 200 000 000 for all i care, that changes nothing. I only need one, it starts with i followed by P followed by o, well ... you get that rest.