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Apple makes an iPhone 5s, 6, 6 plus, 6s and 6s plus. - that's 5. Certainly less than Samsung. But they've definitely upped their model #s..

Well no. 3. The pluses are the same with a bigger screen. Samsungs models are all utterly divergent. Their mini s phones for example are completely different processors, parts and bloatware ;)
 
Exactly.

Samsung sold less than 70 million Galaxy/Note phones last year.
Apple sold 230 million iPhones last year.

Ok. So Apple sold more high end smartphones than Samsung.
Samsung sold more smartphones, overall, than Apple.

I hope you won't lose sleep over either way of looking at it. I defer to my earlier point. You're entitled to want other information in the report. But it's not your report. And this isn't a new report - as it's typically released quarterly/yearly and conducted exactly the same. Which provokes the same comments every time too.
 
All I see from this chart is that Apple sold 40 million more phones in 2015 than they did in 2014, whereas Samsung only sold 3 million more in 2015 than they did in 2014. One quarter doesn't mean as much.
 
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Well no. 3. The pluses are the same with a bigger screen. Samsungs models are all utterly divergent. Their mini s phones for example are completely different processors, parts and bloatware ;)

No argument that Samsung has more phones. But then you would need to lump in the 6S and 6S edge I think to be fair. Same phone, just different screen design. But whatever - not really important in the scheme of things. I do find it interesting that Apple is expanding their line (for better and worse).
 
Last year Samsung sold less than 75 million top end phones (GalaxyS and Note)
Last year Apple sold 231 million top end phones

That's comparing top end Samsung phablets only, with the entire range of iPhones from 5C on up.

Samsung just reported that their profits crashed, essentially they're selling nothing but low end phones and we got that kind of article... What the hell is that.

Yep, when Samsung finally got phablet competition from Apple, they lost their exclusive hold on that market.

Now Apple is reporting that their sales are going to drop YoY next quarter as well, for the first time. What held that back from happening earlier last year, was a lot of people catching up on buying a bigger screened iPhone. Cook was very smart to throw out his previous claims of 4" being the perfect size.

As far as profit margins go, Apple is of course way ahead of everyone else, because they only sell high-margin phones.
 
Ok. So Apple sold more high end smartphones than Samsung.
Samsung sold more smartphones, overall, than Apple.

I hope you won't lose sleep over either way of looking at it. I defer to my earlier point. You're entitled to want other information in the report. But it's not your report. And this isn't a new report - as it's typically released quarterly/yearly and conducted exactly the same. Which provokes the same comments every time too.


Could you provide the evidence of "Samsung sold more smartphones, overall, than Apple"? Because all we get are shipped figures from Samsung, not sales. Big difference. Cheers. Happy with that post?
 
I agree. I saw a 'mock-up' of this last year. As far as I saw it was more of a bend than a fold so far? How could you guarantee uniformity of closure for example with a bend [no interfaced hinge]?

Ah, good question. Samsung has been patenting case designs to handle that.

Basically, think of a folding screen mounted inside something like the folding plastic case that DVDs often come in. Except it's triangular shaped from a top edge view, with the hinge side thicker than the opening side.

Thus the fold has more room to make a less sharp radius when the case is being closed. The case controls the folding, and limits the curve amount.

You would also hope that they would wait a year on supplying to third parties if they were serious about competing, but I suppose that will not happen.

Yeah, there was an article in a financial magazine not long ago, berating Samsung for saying they'd be willing to give up advantages like that, and share.

But then, that's how the smartphone world worked for years before Apple came along. It used to be that everyone basically shared the same suppliers, and competed on price and looks instead of features locked up by patents, licenses (e.g. LiquidMetal, which Samsung had used for years in phones) or supplier purchases (fingerprint sensors).
 
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All Samsung phones are sold road side for pennies in countries like China, India, Indonesia etc. with free Samsung HandCrank(TM) Washer Dryer combo. No wonder they are selling many of these and Samsung can't make much of a profit.

Apple has like 99999.999999% (I can't beyond that) of all the pruhfitties. Phew, feels much better.
 
Gotta love all the people talking about profit, and how happy they are to report Apple's AMAZING profit margins. In other words, they are saying, "Hey everyone, look at me, I love paying Apple more money for cheaper inferior hardware. And I'll even brag about it for Apple."
Truly sad indeed. Saddest part is that blind loyal customers like this, do the most damage to advancing consumer products. Just no need for the manufacturer to innovate product after product because you're so willing to grab your ankles.
Ugh. Think about what you're saying for a second. Profit isn't a sin, it's a metric. How much value have you added above the cost of the raw materials?

How do you know Apple isn't gouging? Because Samsung and others still exist, and people still value the Apple products more highly. Maybe you don't, but you're not a market.

This teapot could be made from the most expensive, superior materials, and it still wouldn't be profitable. Make it out of gold and you could probably sell it at only a small loss (the cost of raw materials minus the cost to form the pot then melt it back down).
5bd1660263ab8b89d07d4084c690e4da.jpg
 
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And are there some actual numbers available to backup that idea or is this just wishful thinking? The last time I looked, Samsung's flagship models sold really, really well all around the globe, while Apple mostly sells in the US and is beaten to pulp by the Android competition in ALL other countries.

The issue with this report is that market share has little to do with the health of the company from an investors' perspective, profit does.

And I wouldn't say Apple is being beaten to a pulp.

Samsung (as a whole) made $5.09 Billion in Q4 while selling 81.3 million phones (among its VERY diversified other products)

Apple (as a whole) on the other hand made $18.4 billion in Q4 selling 74.8 million phones(as well as computers and tablets).

Lets put this into perspective; then entire 2015 yearly profit for Samsung was $21.88 Billion, Apple made 85% of that in one quarter!


This picture is even worse for Samsung Mobile when you just look at their mobile (cell-phone) division:
Samsung Mobile made $1.8 Billion selling 81.3 Million Phones. Samsung makes about $22 per phone.

Apple, on the other hand, doesn't report profit by category, but their revenue was 68% iPhone in Q4, so we can estimate that iPhone made about $12.5 Billion selling 74.8 Million phones. Apple makes about $167.25 per phone!

Lets look at total FY2015: Samsung Mobile made $8.4 Billion for all of 2015, that is only 67% of what Apple makes on iPhone in ONE QUARTER! Literally, all of Samsung cell phones made less in one year what apple makes on iPhones in one quarter.

So again: Samsung Mobile made $8.4 Billion in FY2015, Apple made (approximately) $152 Billion on iPhones in FY2015

That means that Apple made 18 TIMES (1,800%) of what Samsung Mobile made.
 
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Am I really the only one that feels like this is NEVER a fair comparison? It really feels stupid to me. Apple makes one phone. Samsung makes a ton of them. I feel like the better comparison is Samsung's TOP phone line vs Apple's ONLY phone line.

But I don't know I guess that's just me *sips tea
 
It is sad to see many apologists defending Apple no matter what.
Be a supporter, not a fanboy.
Point is that is disappointing, I hope they can make a killer iPhone 7 to close the gap.

I see just as many people trying to take shots at Apple no matter what. Two sides to every story.
 
Could you provide the evidence of "Samsung sold more smartphones, overall, than Apple"? Because all we get are shipped figures from Samsung, not sales. Big difference. Cheers. Happy with that post?

This post displays some common confusion about sales reports like this one.

-- These reports include estimates of sales that count towards revenue.


First, these figures come from analysts, not Samsung. They use everything from supplier info, to store sales, to counts at border customs warehouses.

Second, with rare exception, reports like this always are about sales to retailers (sell in), not to end users (sell through) unless done in a company store. In other words, "shipped" is counted the same as "sales", as long as the sale to a retailer is expected to stick.

Note that this is how Apple counts sales as well. For example, when Apple announces those new model first weekend sales counts, many iPhones in that count are still on their way to carriers and other stores. (Apple counts a sale towards revenue the moment they ship a device to a retailer. Samsung counts it when it arrives at a retailer. The net effect is the same. It's paid for by the retailer, therefore it's a sale.)

-- Sales does not mean sold to end users. Not even for Apple.

For example, Apple recently spoke of slightly higher sales for Q1 2016 (74.8 million iPhones) than for Q1 2015 (74.5 million). However, that's not a count of end user sales. That's mostly sales to retailers, who sometimes end up the quarter with extra stock.

In fact, according to Apple's channel inventory, end users bought over 3 million iPhones LESS this quarter than last year.
 
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Samsung makes cheap/almost free phones also.
One would need a breakout of S5,S6 and Note models for the comparison to be relavantt.
Apple also sells cheap iPhone 5S phones in emerging markets for $300 which are a huge hit in India.
I would like to see a breakout of iPhone models as well for the comparison to be relevant.
 
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...
This constant "BUT APPLE PROFITS!!! SO APPLE IS BEST" should be virtually irrelevant to us as consumers.
as Consumers, what should matter to us?

1: Will my product continue to receive support
2: will my vendor continue to offer products tha meet my requirements
3: Will I receive value for the price I paid?

Apple has somehow sold many people here, that earning record profits year after year is somehow beneficial to us as their customers, and that somehow, having 45% margin on their devices somehow is good for us the consumer. It's one of the biggest slight of hand tricks they've managed to pass off on us. They've convinced millions of people that supporting their shareholders is the most important aspect of buying Apple products.

And the mental gymnastics some people go to here to support that mentality is disturbing.

Yes. Companies need profit for growth. All companies should aim for profit to sustain growth. But rampant profiteering purely for the sake of profiteering and making a very tiny group of rich people richer is a disturbing reality.

At the end of the day, if Samsung Sells more units, and can continue business operations, why the hell are people offended by this.


1)
Will my product continue to receive support
Yes, if the company stays solvent and in business (i.e healthy), and the larger gross margin the more the company can divert to customer service. Hard to provide good customer service when you make $0.50 per handset...

2)
will my vendor continue to offer products tha meet my requirements
Far more likely if the company remains solvent, ask any person who were/are really baked into BBM how they feel right now.

3)
Will I receive value for the price I paid?
More subjective, as value is a judgment call. Remember, that for the most part the top-of-the line Samsung and iPhones are about the same price. Are Samsung phones significantly better, especially in considering their lower margin?

What exactly do you get for Samsung's s6's lower margin?

- Not real world performance as most review have these two neck-and-neck
- Not Battery Life, again these are neck-and-neck, with the Iphone 6s appearing to be slightly better.
- Not support, as Apple is recognized as having great support, and many local stores from which you can get personalized support.
- Perhaps screen quality; the Galaxy s6 seems to have a slightly better screen, but is more prone to image retention
- Maybe OS, if you really love Android, but many people prefer iOS, especially for it's ease of use and updates.


So how does Apple's margins, whether high or low, really affect the customer as long as the phones are priced competitively? I think that a significant amount of apple's higher margins are due to their better business model; so in that case the major "thing" you get for Samsung's lower margin is just business inefficiencies, hardly value.
 
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Apple is doomed.
C'mon Timmy, you can do better.
Knew removing headphone jack would cause problems.
Bye bye Apple stock.
Apple needs to break off its partnership with Samsung.
Steve Jobs wouldn't have allowed this.
Jony is obsessed with thinness instead of bigger battery.
Beats are crappy headphones.
OLED is better than LCD.
OLED has burn-in problems.
iPhone 5s was the best design.
Antenna bands are ugly.
1GB of ram isn't enough.
16GB base model is stupid.
5400 RPM spinning drive is stupid.
T-Mobile is disrupting the industry.

Have I forgotten anything?


But at least Apple makes the most profit.
 
What exactly do you like about a Samsung phone hardware wise over an iPhone?

The answer is not as simple as the question.

No matter how nice a car you may own, do you really think you will want to drive and own the same make and model forever?

What about your house? Do you think you will want to live in the same house forever, just happy changing the wallpaper and door handles, regardless of your personal and family requirements?

What about when you buy a really nice outfit? Would you keep a wardrobe full of the same thing, wearing it everyday?

If you answered yes to all the above then you are likely Apple's target consumer.

Back in the day, I owned mobile phones based on my requirements (often financial) however it was never based on what I was forced to buy by my network provider. I had Nokia's, Sony-Ericssons, Motorola's and Samsung phones. They all served a purpose and I had choice to change manufacturers every year when one, or the other was on their way up making good phones that suited my requirements.

In 2007 it was easy for me to buy an iPhone as a Mac user and required no thought at all. The fact that I now question that thought is more than just hardware specification's.

Now I am not saying Apple are making bad phones right now, just others are making good, different and interesting ones also.

Apple and iOS has become a like a Network Provider you are tied into if you have invested heavily in the Eco-system and make it uneconomical, or incompatible to leave.

You could try to say this about other OS's, except that Apple and iOS is not about choice compared to Android and I wish it were. Even Steve Balmer is urging MS to make Window's mobile compatible with Android App's. Yes..., he say's that for survival reason's, but it opens up Window's phone users to Android.

Having 2 models of a current phone is not choice and bringing out 'low-cost', or smaller size phones with crippled hardware to stave of perceived cannibalisation is not choice either.
 
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Since most of Samsung's sales are cheap low-end models, I don't think Apple is too threatened.

I recently bought, for a gift, a Samsung phone. So I bought a $150 T-Mobile phone. Smoother than I expected for the specs.

And, just this last week I bought the same phone for myself. Changing to T-Mobile, and I need a phone for long enough to get my iPhone unlocked from ATT. I didn't want to go ahead and buy a new iPhone at this time since I plan to upgrade from the 6 to the 7 this fall. So went for the now $120 model. And I'll have a backup if necessary.

I'm sure Samsung is making a huge margin on these phones :)
 
Samsung dominates the low cost phone market in Asia, however they will be dwarfed by Chinese companies very soon.
 
I am not sure why other Apple Fans get so worked up about this, I am a big Apple fan, but I hope this will be to my benefit. It forces Apple to make bold decisions, come up with something great, and hopefully get rid of those ancient headphone jacks.
 
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