According to a recent study, out of the dozens of smartphone makers in the world only two control 95% of the market’s profit. Apple and Samsung. That only adds fuel to an already blazing rivalry between the two, as the battle is waged on store shelves and courtrooms around the world.
MacNewsWorld via MacDailyNews:
The smartphone war is often depicted as a battle between iOS and a world of Android phone makers, but a report released this week suggests that in terms of profit, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) really has one main challenger — Samsung.
The South Korean manufacturer and Apple together account for 95 percent of the Q4 2011 profit in the handset industry, according to a report from Canaccord Genuity. Apple accounted for 80 percent of the industry’s profit in that time frame, outselling all other smartphones combined at AT&T (NYSE: T) and Sprint (NYSE: S), the report states. Samsung has stepped up to the plate and captured 15 percent of the remaining profit.
Lately Apple has been on a such steep upward climb that some analysts believe that a $1,000 per share price point for AAPL isn’t out of the question. The stock closed Tuesday at just under $630.
Android has managed to grab a large piece of the smartphone market mainly because the Android platform is spread over so many phone makers. But, as Sumsung has proven to be the leader in Android devices, it gives Apple a single challenger to focus on.
There is already bad blood between the two competitors, as they are involved in heated legal battles over patents.
A new field for Samsung and Apple to battle over is the TV market. Rumors of an Apple TV set have yet to be confirmed, but that doesn’t stop the stories from spreading. Samsung’s experience in the TV market has lead to the company being talked about as a possible partner for Apple to turn to for TV set production.
The fierce rivalry between the companies though, could lead to the deal between the two being a non-starter. Which could explain Foxconn’s reported deal to buy a stake in LCD screen maker Sharp.
