Apple or Samsung: Which Would You Rather?

onnaedo

October 16, 2013 8:06 AM

Not to sound presumptuous and with every sense of respect to the dead, we can literarily imagine Steve Jobs just shuddering and scoffing in his grave at the title of this article. «It's a no-brainer, the iPhone is a device miles ahead of its time!» the Apple co-founder and tech revolutionary would probably be screaming and indeed, it would have been - a few years ago that is.

In 2007, Appleinc redefined the status quo in the mobile phone market when they introduced the iPhone. The iPhone sought to change the mobile experience and change it did with its purely touch-screen interface and stylish design. At the time, nothing like it existed in the market and the frenzy it caused is still unprecedented. 6 years down the line and eight iPhone models later, Apple still continues to remain in the front-line of the smartphone market, just not as the clear market leaders they used to be.

In 2010, Samsung introduced the Galaxy series which for all intents and purposes posed a great competition for the iPhone and which also sparked off a legal war between Apple and Samsung in several countries across Europe, Asia and the United States.Apple eventually won big in the United States when the courts ordered Samsung to pay $1.049 billion in damages to Apple. However, this did not stop the South Korean company from forging ahead in their quest to capture the smartphone market.

2012 proved the year Samsung would unseat Apple as the all-time smartphone champions they had hitherto been with the release of the Samsung Galaxy S3. With cutting edge human-computer interaction features like the eye-tracking ability and the S Voice,Samsung established themselves as a force to reckon with in the smartphone market eventually overtaking the Apple iPhone 4S to become the highest-selling smartphone in the third quarter of 2012 as well as topping several best phone lists including that of and Stuff magazine.

But by the following quarter, Apple released the iPhone 5 which quickly earned a lawsuit from Samsung claiming that Apple had infringed on 8 of their patents. The case is set to begin hearings in 2014. Notwithstanding, the iPhone 5 reclaimed Apple's market share and received mostly positive reviews but failed to introduce any major new innovations.

With the newly released , Samsung and Apple are set to go head to head again following Samsung's earlier released flagship phones, the and S4 mini. The Galaxy S4 saw an upgrade of the undefinedfeatures previously debuted in the Samsung S3 and so far holds the record of being the fastest selling android ever having sold 4 million units in 4 days and 10 million units in 27 days. The iPhone 5S and 5C on the other hand have as major innovations the 64-bit Apple A7 processor and built-in fingerprint sensor.

While Apple may have started the smartphone revolution, there's no doubt that Samsung has caught up in the chase both in terms of market share and user experience. With Apple priding itself on innovation, design and exclusivity and Samsung operating a more diversified approach by offering products which cater to a wider market range, both brands clearly have a mission and an adoring fan base at that. It then remains to be seen who survives the competition in the increasingly saturated smartphone market.

In the meantime, which would you rather, Apple or Samsung?

onnaedo