Kantar Worldpanel: Apple vs. Samsung competition is over

It is the smartphone equivalent of Ali vs. Frazier, the Hatfields vs. the McCoys and the Backstreet Boys vs. NSync. We are talking about the greatest rivalry the smartphone world has ever known, Apple vs. Samsung. According to a new report from research firm Kantar Worldpanel, the Apple vs. Samsung rivalry is over as other manufacturers are beginning to account for some serious percentages of the global smartphone market.

For the three months ended in May 2016, Samsung accounted for 36% of U.S. smartphone sales with Apple at 29%. But if you narrow it down to the Samsung Galaxy S7/Galaxy S7 edge versus the Apple iPhone 6s/6s Plus, Samsung's lead is narrowed to 1.4 percentage points (16% vs. 14.6%). Another way of looking at this is that Sammy's flagship phone is outselling the iPhone in the U.S. Apple's iconic smartphone usually finds itself on top of the U.S. charts.

Most Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6s buyers are sticking with what they are familiar with. Only 5% of Galaxy S7/Galaxy S7 edge purchases came from iPhone owners making a switch. 14% of iPhone purchasers were made by buyers switching from Samsung. 88% of iPhone owners and 86% of Samsung users say that they will stay with their current brand.

Apple and Samsung monopolize the smartphone industry in the U.S. and in the U.K. In both markets, Apple and Samsung dominate the top ten. In other markets, things are wildly different. In China, the largest smartphone market in the world, Samsung once owned a leading 34% share. Two years later, that has dwindled down to 9%. Xiaomi, which briefly held the top spot in the country, has dropped back as Apple and Huawei duke it out for supremacy in China. Right now, it is Huawei that holds the lead.

Kamtar says that Samsung vs. Apple is over because of the other companies with designs on the top. Huawei is one that has said it will surpass Apple and Samsung by 2021. To accomplish that goal, the manufacturer plans on making big moves in the U.S. and India. The research firm says that Apple and Samsung need to stop staring at each other, and start to concern themselves with rivals like Huawei and Google. The latter is rumored to be working on building its own Android handset.

source: KantarWorldpanel via FierceWireless