In reply to Deacon’s blog on the first week sales for IPhone 6, his blog discusses the possibility of Apple losing its competitiveness to other smartphone companies due to its lack of originality on its “new” IPhone 6 features. While I certainly agree that, function wise, Samsung could potentially be more advance, I do reject the argument that Apple could “fall off the high chair in the world of technology”. Despite that there are many features on the new IPhone 6 that has already been present in other models of smartphones such as Samsung’s and HTC’s. But there are other reasons why consumers would be drawn more to the IPhone despite that competitors have more (in terms of quantity) features on the device.
Firstly, a major differentiation for many users in IPhones are its fluidity, the entire platform of the device presents itself in a way that is more direct to the user. One is able to see all it’s apps at a glance instead of having to enter into different menus, better for users who are looking for more convenience. Whereas for Samsung, one may have to navigate to different menus to access to a certain application. Having many functions on the screen might actually confuse users.
Speaking of applications, the Apple Appstore remains the largest application store compared to its counterparts, like the Samsung Playstore. Many applications are exclusively on the Appstore and nowhere else, users will likely be more attracted to purchase the IPhone 6 due to its larger (free!) app library. Because more developers will likely to develop apps for the Appstore first due to the larger customer segment, before it launches an Android version for the Samsung, what the Samsung Playstore will have, Apple will definitely have it too.
Lastly, Apple has a large fan base that cannot be compared by Samsung. Apple has position itself as a leader in the smartphone industry and is unlikely to be knocked out by Samsung, or other smartphone companies, similar to what we’ve discussed. Other non leader firms spend more time developing features that are better than the IPhone, but Apple is still able to enjoy its leader advantage.
Having been both a Apple and Samsung user, I could easily tell you that I prefer the IPhone better for the reasons mentioned above. In my opinion, the IPhone will stay a top competitor in the smartphone industry for as long as it satisfy its enormous fan base. Android phones will be unlikely to take over Apple users in the foreseeable future.
Photo credit: http://recode.net/2014/05/11/happy-mothers-day-iphone-comic/