It appears from media reports that Samsung flagship Galaxy models have outsold Apple iPhone in the US market for the first time.
Research firm Kantar Worldwide Panel reported that 16 percent of American consumers purchased Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge for the three-month period ending in May, while 14.6 percent chose an iPhone 6S or 6S Plus during the same period.
The report comes on the heels of Samsung’s stellar financial earnings this past quarter, which was due to successful market positioning of its Galaxy 7 products.
Analyst Lauren Guenveur suggests in this research report that only 5% of Samsung purchasers were those who were switching from Apple.
“What’s more, when we look at where these purchases are coming from, just 5% of Samsung purchases came from those switching away from Apple, while 14% of Apple purchasers came from those switching away from Samsung. In both cases, the majority of sales came from customers repurchasing and upgrading within their preferred brand. Among those intending to change devices within the next year, 88% of current Apple users and 86% of current Samsung users intend to stay loyal.”
The report infers that with slowing growth in developed markets, and Chinese brands leading the largest smartphone market in the world, Apple and Samsung have less to worry about from each other going forward—and much more to worry about from other competitors, and the changing landscape.
It is important to point out that Apple’s iPhone 6 model is atleast half a year behind the latest Samsung models, which does provide an edge to Galaxy 7 models in the marketplace. Furthermore, although the Chinese brands have gained the top spots in the domestic market, competing with brands such as Apple will increasingly become tougher given the premium IP value that Apple brings to the table.
With the increase in popularity of Augmented Reality based games such as PokeMon Go, new phones will require more processing power and battery effectiveness than the ones that are currently available. Given this shift in consumer taste, Apple’s new models are bound to gain momentum in the market with recent reports pointing to 17% more battery effectiveness on the new iPhone 7.
The current advantage that Samsung holds in its market lead is just temporary at best.