iPhone X Should Push Apple Ahead of Samsung as World's Largest Smartphone Maker

[zarmanto]

buy apple stock

But don't sell your Samsung stock, just yet. They still stand to make some pretty impressive profits, as a parts supplier to Apple.

(Which is one of the most peculiar incongruencies, given both the competition and the lawsuits between the two companies... they rely on each other to stay in business, and yet they continue to attack each other with seemingly reckless abandon. )

 

[WWPD]

But don't sell your Samsung stock, just yet. They still stand to make some pretty impressive profits, as a parts supplier to Apple.

(Which is one of the most peculiar incongruencies, given both the competition and the lawsuits between the two companies... they rely on each other to stay in business, and yet they continue to attack each other with seemingly reckless abandon. )

Funny thing is Apple is looking to other companies as suppliers, sucks to be Samsung if that happens.

 

[Rafterman]

Samsung feels so insecure that they need to produce an ad to mock it.

I guess then Apple felt insecure when they aired those Mac vs PC commercials.

 

[TxExCxH]

Just wondering what your partner didn't like about the iPhone X. I am still waiting for mine and the one feature I like is the screen size 'similar' to the Plus with a footprint just a tad bigger than the iPhone 8.

He didn't like the fact that video doesn't fill up the screen unless you zoom in, which causes the video to be cropped. Also he didn't like Face ID.

 

[rirell]

Good for Apple, not so good for customers. It means they're going to continue selling expensive phones since X is a success.
This year we have 8 and 8+ at the usual price points, while X is a more expensive model. But what if they sell their "base" new model at $999 in the future?

It's almost like consumers have no choice!

 

[WWPD]

I guess then Apple felt insecure when they aired those Mac vs PC commercials.

 

[maflynn]

Good news, but not totally surprising. I think this happens fairly often around this time of year.

 

[PickUrPoison]

I guess then Apple felt insecure when they aired those Mac vs PC commercials.

Apple was comparing their platform to a competing platform. They didn’t compare themselves to another company, though IBM was the market leader then, and everyone was running some version of Microsoft Windows.

Apple has never felt insecure about the Mac; they’ve always known it’s better than PC.

 

[I7guy]

Well to be fair to naysayers, which I am sometimes, Tim Cook is at the helm of decisions that seem to emphasize the counting of the beans more than Steve Jobs would have recommended, as can be deduced by some of Steve’s past interviews. But he’s bringing in many beans by selling many iPhones to many happy people like my husband, who just loves the X even after giving a couple of Android and Samsung flagships a good spin. It’s hard to argue with that kind of success.

And I don’t recall Steve having the Chinese to contend with both as potential rivals and as potential customers. That would have come, in time, for him, had he lived. That’s a tough nut to crack. I’ve been watching TC handle that one with a certain horrified fascination after seeing other companies get eaten alive swimming in the same sea with those same sharks. I’m impressed he’s maneuvered as well as he has there.

He’s had to position Apple as a global company and expand its image beyond the line of computers that defined its early identity and even beyond smartphones into wearables. As an early adopter of the Apple Watch and a believer in its potential, it’s been fun seeing it on more and more people. Not as an Apple Sheep, but as someone who appreciated the concept from the beginning and thought it was a promising implementation of a sound vision.

Leaving the bean counting aside, because each of us has a different value equation I agree with your points. I just like their products better than competitors.

 

[Rafterman]

Apple was comparing their platform to a competing platform. They didn’t compare themselves to another company, though IBM was the market leader then, and everyone was running some version of Microsoft Windows.

Apple has never felt insecure about the Mac; they’ve always known it’s better than PC.

Huh?

Samsung mocks iPhones for doing less, Apple mocked PC's for doing less. No difference.

 

[pika2000]

Most i see now is huawei,Asus,oppo,Xiomi and vivo. Lenovo drop market a lot after a lot of fake china copycat. Samsung pretty bad because of slow update..

For myself i have used variety of nokia,android,iphone and windows phone.

Iphone rare because the cost here is 5000 MYR for iphone X which price 2x normal person average wage.

iPhones are as expensive as Samsung flagships in many emerging markets, yet every pre-orders of Samsung Galaxy S/Note are always sold out. Despite their prices being multitudes of the average wages, phones have become the status symbols in the emerging markets where many people cannot afford a car/house.

In Indonesia, you'll be surprised how many people use iPhones. Sure, not as many as Android for obvious reasons, but more than you would think.

 

[citysnaps]

.

But but but...

Whatabout Apple getting loads of credit for sales when they're delivered to stores, before phones are actually purchased by customers??? Yeah, that's it... FAKE SALES!

Because, you know, Apple loves to hold onto massive inventory. No, wait a minute... That's not right. Yeah. Apple intentionally restricts supply to spur demand. Yeah, that's it. No, wait a minute...

Here we go: fire TC, Apple is doomed.

 

[deanthedev]

Samsung is in several industries and isn't a one-trick pony. They must be shaking in their boots if they believe their income solely relies on selling mobile phones forever and ever. Good for Apple. But if iPhone declines, Apple declines. The iPhone is nearly 70% of their profits.

If Samsung leaves the mobile industry, they are perfectly fine doing other things like selling appliances, medicine, clothes, construction, shipping, semiconductor, et cetera, et cetera. Renaissance man. It's like Sony not really being known for banking but they are.

Say what? Mobile is literally 50% of Samsung Electronics total revenues or about 33% of the revenues for the entire Samsung conglomerate.

You think a company is “perfectly fine” cutting their yearly revenues from $300 billion to $200 billion?

 

[ftaok]

Samsung is expected to slightly scale back the production of its high-end models in the fourth quarter as the brand is seeing the sales of its smartphones being squeezed by the strong demand for Apple's latest iPhone devices

When you see Samsung attacking Apple customers in ads, you know they are in panic mode.

I'd like to be a fly on the wall when the heads of the various Samsung business units meet up. I can imagine that the semiconductor chief and the displays chief are not too happy with the marketing decisions of the mobile devices chief.

Imagine that you like a girl/guy, but your siblings just ruin it for you by teasing and criticizing your crush and their friends.

 

[Noctilux.95]

As someone who sees non of the massive profits Apple pockets, I could care less. Having said that, I'm enjoying my iPhone X.

 

[blackcrayon]

Samsung is in several industries and isn't a one-trick pony. They must be shaking in their boots if they believe their income solely relies on selling mobile phones forever and ever. Good for Apple. But if iPhone declines, Apple declines. The iPhone is nearly 70% of their profits.

If Samsung leaves the mobile industry, they are perfectly fine doing other things like selling appliances, medicine, clothes, construction, shipping, semiconductor, et cetera, et cetera. Renaissance man. It's like Sony not really being known for banking but they are.

At least compare Samsung Electronics to Apple. Otherwise it's a silly comparison, Samsung is a large conglomerate of separate companies under one roof. Or unless you think Apple should spin off two companies that make military weapons and microwave ovens just in case the iPhone starts selling poorly

 

[iReality85]

That's a huge jump in market share, almost all at the expense of Samsung.

Another interesting note is the ascent of Chinese smartphone manufacturers.

 

[ftaok]

As someone who sees non of the massive profits Apple pockets, I could care less. Having said that, I'm enjoying my iPhone X.

Chances are that you do own Apple stock in some form or another, so when Apple makes money, you make money.

Apple is one of the most widely held positions in mutual fund portfolios. If you have a 401k/403b or just about any growth or value or index based mutual fund, then you likely own some AAPL.

For that matter, you probably own some Samsung stock too.

 

[zarmanto]

... Those who like big displays are more likely to buy the Plus, they wouldn’t be as interested in the X. ...

I guess that depends upon how you define "bigger." The iPhone X screen has a significantly higher resolution than the 8+ screen, as well as a larger overall dimension, even taking into account the camera bump and the rounded corners... but it's also fractionally narrower than the 8+ in physical dimensions.

I'm not saying I disagree with the overall sentiment necessarily; I do think that the Plus will continue to be a strong seller. I just think that the notion that the Plus series has the biggest screen is probably more about impression than reality.

 

[alien3dx]

iPhones are as expensive as Samsung flagships in many emerging markets, yet every pre-orders of Samsung Galaxy S/Note are always sold out. Despite their prices being multitudes of the average wages, phones have become the status symbols in the emerging markets where many people cannot afford a car/house.

In Indonesia, you'll be surprised how many people use iPhones. Sure, not as many as Android for obvious reasons, but more than you would think.

if status ya,, till i do remember those fella don't change the ring tone at all.

 

[RickInHouston]

buy apple stock

I think that ship has sailed.

 

[macTW]

Very impressive, considering Samsung targets the low priced phone market space much more heavily than Apple does.

 

[KingslayerG5]

Samsung sells more models of phones than Apple but also has to compete with several more competitors in the Android world while Apple has iOS all to itself. You can say Apple sells fewer phones but you can't ignore the fact Samsung is up against Google, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, LG, Sony, Motorola, Nokia (HMD), HTC, ZTE, and so on. All with different price points to undercut them.

I'm actually glad Samsung won't be the market leader or the gap between them and the #2 Android OEM in Huawei has narrowed. There is complacency with being #1. It is like being up 20 pts in the first half of an NBA game. Teams start to think it is too easy and starts to relax more. Stay hungry and foolish.

Apple needs other companies to do most of the dirty work for them. Handing them recipes like custom design schematics is hard work? Then let others cook it for you?

I did my Gilligan's Island / LOST references but here goes -

Samsung = Maryann (Jealousy), The Professor (Pride)

Apple = Ginger (Lust), Mr. Howell (Greed), and Mrs. Howell (Sloth)

Marry Maryann, F Ginger, kill Mrs. Howell.

If LOST reference, Samsung is Sayid (the mechanic), Locke (the hunter), Jin (the fisherman), and recently Jack (the doctor). Apple is Charlie Pace. ~You all everybody~. A music artist but not that truly practical to be around in survival.

I don't even like Samsung phones much but they aren't a one-trick pony and they are better prepared than Apple in surviving if the smartphone market crashes. Apple stopped caring about Mac years ago. The iPod is dead. It's now iPhone or bust for them.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Good for Apple, not so good for customers. It means they're going to continue selling expensive phones since X is a success.

True but so is the inverse of that argument. Today customers are receptive to paying more for a better phone. So Apple has successfully found an acceptable higher price point here. Customers are happy, Apple is happy. But if sales of the next generation dip Apple will have to adjust its pricing or find a way to entice people to upgrade quicker. Either way it’s good for consumers.

 

[pika2000]

if status ya,, till i do remember those fella don't change the ring tone at all.

Hmm, most people don't care/bother with changing ringtones though. I have yet met a person, whatever phone they use, that don't use the default ringtone, other than myself. Not sure how this is relevant to an object being a status symbol though.

Just like cars. Mercedes, Audi, BMW are status symbols, but most people don't modify them.