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Samsung Overtakes Apple to Reclaim Title of World's Largest Smartphone Maker

linkgx1 said:
What do you mean? You mean like how Apple got fingerprint sensors, larger screens, NFC and smartwatches AFTER it's been already implemented by Android? Please go.
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And nobody cared about any of these things until Apple released them. Please stop typing nonsense.
 
samcraig said:
May I ask why you really care? Sincerely - are you curious - or does it/will it shape your behavior in any way?
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I can't speak for the person you replied to, but for me, I would rather compare apples to apples. It doesn't make sense comparing low-end phone sales with what Apple sells. They just aren't the same types of devices.

And by the way, I don't think your question is sincere. It seems rather snarky to me! :rolleyes:
 
freediverx said:
1) Fingerprint sensors
Apple was the first to get it RIGHT. The first fingerprint sensors on Android were laughably unusable. They were mounted on the rear of the phone, required the user to swipe in a very specific direction which in turn required holding the phone in an awkward grip, and ultimately it was totally unreliable. In typical Samsung fashion, their original fingerprint sensors were added as an afterthought so they could list it as another feature on the box, regardless of how poorly it worked.

2) Larger Screen
A larger screen is no more of an innovation than a new color.

3) NFC
Apple doesn't jump on new tech without providing users with a compelling reason to use it. NFC payments in the US were rarely used until Apple released Apple Pay. They not only made it easy to use, but they secured deals with banks in advance, implemented an elaborate security system that makes it near impossible for someone to steal your credit card number, and they anonymized the transactions so that retailers couldn't track the user. Huge difference.

4) Smartwatches
Do you really want to go there? The explosion in Android smartwatches was entirely the result of rumors that Apple was working on one. The first few days of Apple Watch pre-orders exceeded the combined sales to date of all Android smartwatches.

5) Quality Materials
Nobody is criticizing Samsung for using higher quality materials. They're being criticized for (once again) blatantly copying the iPhone instead of coming up with something original. It's also telling that Samsung started using better materials in a desperate last ditch attempt to compete with Apple, rather than because they care about quality or their customers.
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Funny post. Really funny.
 
Journalists don't do maths anymore

I love how they don't teach maths in journalism anymore. This whole story is incorrect. Samsung has always sold more phones in Q1 than Apple in the last few years.

In 2014 Q1, Samsung sold 45 million more phones than Apple.
In 2015 Q1, Samsung sells 22 million more phone than Apple.

I can't see how Samsung is doing well.... The gap is closing.

BTW samsung never releases their figures for handsets sold. These are just estimates by Strategy Analytics who could have plucked the number out of the sky.
 
D.T. said:
Hahaha, but aren't you doing the same thing? (caring about _his_ caring?) I mostly just chuckle at comments I think are inane and move on vs. policing what are people post.

Come on, take my hand, it'll be OK :D

*Sam and DT run hand-in-hand through a meadow of flowers*

:D
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Sorry - and this dates me - but after reading your post, all I could think of was this

 
I think we will see Apple rebound back to number one again after the 6S is launched. The 'S' version of the iPhone i believe always sells more than the just number version. So it should be a repeat of the iPhone 6 and then some.

I know i'm not buying a Samsung phone again, i made that mistake with the Galaxy S2 , i've learned.
 
As an Asian guy, I was so tempted to switch to Samsung. They offered me the newest Galaxy when I purchased a new Samsung rice cooker.
 
sseaton1971 said:
I would be more interested in sales numbers of devices with similar features from Apple, Samsung, and other vendors. Apple doesn't compete in the low-end smartphone market. Also, two other interesting data points would be profits from smartphone sales and how much money is made by app sales (for both the storefronts and developers).
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Companies like Strategy Analytics have purposefully grouped low end devices together with high end to paint a deceptive picture of Apple vs. Android marketshare. In tablets, for example, they lump $800 iPads together with $50 toys.

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samcraig said:
Funny post. Really funny.
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Devastating rebuttal.
 
freediverx said:
1) Fingerprint sensors
Apple was the first to get it RIGHT. The first fingerprint sensors on Android were laughably unusable. They were mounted on the rear of the phone, required the user to swipe in a very specific direction which in turn required holding the phone in an awkward grip, and ultimately it was totally unreliable. In typical Samsung fashion, their original fingerprint sensors were added as an afterthought so they could list it as another feature on the box, regardless of how poorly it worked. Samsung's edge display is arguably new and innovative, but again in typical Samsung fashion they've failed (in my opinion) to present a compelling use case for it.
Incorrect: The fingerprint sensor that Apple adopted was invented by a company named AuthenTec, who was reported in talks to license their Fingerprint technology to multiple vendors, including Apple, Samsung and a few others. Apple instead fully purchased AuthenTec and cut all its' ties with the other manufacturers to make AuthenTec's technology exclusive to Apple. This left the other manufacturers little time to scramble and come up with secondary solutions (As seen on the S5)

2) Larger Screen
A larger screen is no more of an innovation than a new color. I don't go around bragging that Apple innovated by coming up with "space grey" or "gold" -colored devices.
You don't, but there are many people who do. it is not uncommon on these boards alone to see "oh look, they've got a gold colour, they copied apple".

3) NFC
Apple doesn't jump on new tech without providing users with a compelling reason to use it. NFC payments in the US were rarely used until Apple released Apple Pay. They not only made it easy to use, but they secured deals with banks in advance, implemented an elaborate security system that makes it near impossible for someone to steal your credit card number, and they anonymized the transactions so that retailers couldn't track the user. Meanwhile, NFC payments on Android did little to increase security or privacy, and were awkward to use, requiring the user to give Google Wallet their credit card info. To make a payment, they required unlocking the phone, searching for and opening an app, compared to Apple Pay which works by just holding your locked phone next to the terminal.
There is a lot of FUD that you bought into. NFC didn't take off as a payment method due to a "chicken and egg" scenario in the US. Around the World NFC payment is already strongly supported by most Credit Cards. however, Google, Apple and Samsung didn't want to support it initially internationally. In the US however, it was exact opposite. the US saw the roll out of NFC technology on the handsets, while payment processors didn't want to accept it. If Google Wallet was more available internationally, The story likely would have been different.

4) Smartwatches
Do you really want to go there? The explosion in Android smartwatches was entirely the result of rumors that Apple was working on one. The first few days of Apple Watch pre-orders exceeded the combined sales to date of all Android smartwatches. The Apple Watch is the first such product that doesn't look like a computer strapped to your wrist. It's also small enough to look good on a woman's wrist, which means they've doubled Android's addressable market with that quality alone.
the "craze" of Smartwatches predates the rumour of Apples watch. Yes, that did help the craze, but the talk of wearables really kicked off with devices such as Pebble and FitBit's becoming more prolific. Pebble's initial KickStarter campaign was one of the most succesfull Kickstarters ever, and it predates Apple Watch rumours
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funny post indeed
 
seatton said:
As an Asian guy, I was so tempted to switch to Samsung. They offered me the newest Galaxy when I purchased a new Samsung rice cooker.
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Let me guess, Samsung's rice cooker was a blatant imitation of a leading competitor's model. The other company went out of business trying to sue Samsung in court. Samsung claimed victory for its innovative capabilities.

Smartphones, tablets, TVs, washing machines, vacuum cleaners... Samsung's history of IP theft is truly jaw dropping.
 
LordVic said:
Current, mainly 'western' mentallity of a bipolar zero sum game. Most notably an attitude found in mostly American's.

If A is true, B has to be false.
if you're not first. You're last.

if you aren't #1 in something, you are worthless.

its Cultural
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I suppose stereotyping Americans is the typical Canadian way.
 
As a shareholder (and perhaps also an employee), would you rather have

A - Greater market share, or
B - Greater share of the profits available in that market?

For shareholders the answer is 'B'.

For employees arguably it's the same answer - greater profits CAN pay for product development, innovation, more resources, pay rises & bonuses etc...
 
kodos said:
I never thought I would ever buy a Samsung phone. Well, today I have an S6 Edge. And you know what? I always hated Android. But I'm really enjoying the freedom I have on this handset. It's pretty awesome to see how configurable this thing is, and I am enjoying things such as Tasker and IFTTT on it. Widgets work pretty well too.

It feels a lot more ... personal than my iOS or Windows Phone devices. Which is odd, I never thought I would like Android. But here I am.

And it's all thanks to the S6 Edge. Man, this thing draws attention. I've never seen so many people gawk at a phone before ... well, not since my original iPhone which I got on launch day!
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Glad you like your phone.

But can't help but feel like I just read an ad :)
 
Jsameds said:
Quantity or marketshare don't mean jack if your profits are falling..
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doesn't profit only matter if you're a shareholder?

what a silly thing to say. there are quite a lot of emotional comments here in this thread.
 
LordVic said:
going to be interesting to see the next quarter results that include the S6 in them.

theyve claimed that the S6 has been exceeding all sales expectations. The Money will be indicator if thats true or not.

just got to wait 3 months
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It will be interesting to see. So hard to tell with Samsung since they don't breakdown channel sales and end user sales. Plus Samsung seems to stretch the truth in some area's with their communications. Seems I remember them saying how great the S5 was doing until reality came out and sales we're below expectations.

Anyway... I think Samsung spends too much time trying to out-spec the others players and trying to take on Apple when they should be more worried about Xiaomi. I would think they are hurting Samsung the most.
 
nikaru said:
Yeah, why not to compare the iPhone sales with the sales of the cheap plastic budget phones that Samsung sells and/or give away in emerging markets, sure, it fair!

Please, compare the flagships sales, just one time....
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That is really no comparison.

iPhone numbers would crush the samsung numbers when comparing flag ship phones.
 
freediverx said:
1) Shipped does not equal Sold...
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You post enough to know better.:eek:

sk1wbw said:
I keep seeing stats showing phones "shipped" versus phones sold. Kinda pointless since shipped items don't really show much. Toyota ships more vehicles than the F150. See how much sense that doesn't make?
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That makes no sense at all. Your car analogy is fatally flawed. The report is comparing manufacturers: Samsung and Apple. You compared manufacturer and model.:eek:

lacreid said:
In the case of Samsung, that number *does* mean units shipped. In the case of Apple, that number means units put in consumers' hands (who paid for them).

I always hate seeing these moronic comparisons. Also: there should be a value tier filter. You know, to highlight why Apple takes over 80% of global smartphone profits.
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So you claim. I know for a fact this isn't true. Why would a report on unit sales highlight information on profit?:confused: The profit report will be coming within the next week or two. It always does. Never fails. Spoiler alert: Apple will "win" that report.;) Equilibrium restored?

igorsky said:
Apple reports number of units sold, while Samsung reports units shipped. So Samsung is making a choice to spin the numbers in their favor (sleazebags that they are). How is this a double standard?
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It's not a double standard. You actually have no idea what you're talking about. Samsung doesn't even report numbers so how can they spin the numbers in their favor?

--------------------------------------------------------------

How in Jeebus' name is this idiocy still permeating MR? Shipped vs sold has been debunked so many times on this forum. When Apple says sold they are reporting shipped. You know how I know? Because Apple says so.

Tangent: Apple's marketing is very effective. Redefining and creating words is one of their hallmarks. You know, think different. Everyone calls it shipped. Apple calls it sold, but they mean the same thing as shipped. They even spell it out in their reporting. Apple creates a color that makes no literal sense: Space Gray. Space... Gray:rolleyes:. Retina. Part of an eyeball or a HiDPI screen? Ion-X glass. Gorilla Glass too pedestrian? I was going to include fluoroelastomer but that actually is correct and does sound better than synthetic rubber.:D Don't get me wrong. I would take that marketing team in a hearbeat. The comments above are testimony to the affect they can have. My favorite? Apple doesn't share your personal information. Some people take that as gospel without asking 2 questions. 1. What does Apple consider personal information? 2. What information does Apple actually share?

/rant over. Apologies to all. That shipped v. sold crap is just so annoying to me. I don't know why.:eek:
 
freediverx said:
Let me guess, Samsung's rice cooker was a blatant imitation of a leading competitor's model. The other company went out of business trying to sue Samsung in court. Samsung claimed victory for its innovative capabilities.

Smartphones, tablets, TVs, washing machines, vacuum cleaners... Samsung's history of IP theft is truly jaw dropping.
Click to expand...

Samsung is so innovative. Even the rice cooker battery is removable, it is waterproof and comes with a Samsung stylus. The next big thing is here.
 
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