The Epic Battle: Apple vs. Samsung: A Look at the Tech Giants' Rivalry
Fierce competition is usually present in each and every industry; It is what establishes a market and a great demand. However, when it comes to the tech industry, we are talking big and never-ending competition. Due to the innovative and highly saturated nature of the tech landscape, it is hard not to encounter competition. One of the most popular competitions in the tech industry that is not only interesting for tech enthusiasts but for nearly everyone around the world is the major Samsung vs. Apple competition. The two companies have established prominent names for themselves. You can’t ask someone about any of the two names without them possibly knowing even one fact. We can somewhat say that the two tech giants rule a major part of the tech landscape, which makes the rivalry among them bigger. In this article, we will explore the history of this enormous competition as well as the aspects surrounding it.
A Brief Overview of Apple and Samsung’s History
Nothing big ever starts in the blink of an eye. Every successful establishment usually has a history of determination, hard work, and genuine dedication. Samsung and Apple have a rich and amazing history behind them. So, let us get an overview of each.
A Journey from Newton to iPhone
Apples have had significant roles since the beginning of time. Well, they kind of started life on earth. We can’t forget Newton’s apple, which completely changed the whole world and the way we view it. Now let us get to the apple that is most known now. It all started in 1976 with three bright minds: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ron Wayne. In addition to being very intelligent, the three had futuristic visions that were pretty successful. The trio started working at Steve Jobs’s family garage, where they started manufacturing the Apple I computer with basic technology and materials. Shortly after, Ron Wayne decided to go separate ways. However, this didn’t stop the process of manufacturing and developing, and due to that, Apple was able to score a big investment that helped establish Apple Inc.
Apple’s success didn’t start immediately, as the company still ran into some problems with many failures and faced fierce competition with already established entities. Nonetheless, this didn’t stop Steve Jobs and his team from progressing and taking a step forward.
It wasn’t until 1984 that Apple proudly introduced the Macintosh, which took the whole world by storm. The Macintosh was Apple's real introduction to the public. And although the company ran into a series of difficulties afterward, it continued to shine with many innovative products that took over the world.
Samsung’s Story: From Humble Beginnings to Global Dominance
You’d never imagine that Samsung, the leading tech and electronic company, actually started as a food exporting company. If we were to compare the two companies as to which started first, Samsung would get a point. Samsung started in 1938 in Korea, where its main activity was exporting food such as dried fish to China. A while later, the founders had an eye for being more broad and expanding their business. Thus, in the 1950s, Samsung started to conquer other industries, such as textiles.
As the late 1960s and early 1970s started, the need for new technologies was advancing. And since Samsung’s ambitions were never-ending, the company established a new division, Samsung Electronics, which was an instant hit. The company started by producing TVs, washing machines, and other devices. However, the name Samsung didn’t shine and become valuable to customers until the late 1980s, when they released their first Samsung Mobile phone.
Since then, Samsung and its products have become unstoppable. With many mobile phones and the introduction of memory cards and hard drives that have been a major part of Samsung’s business till now.
Apple vs. Samsung: How Did the Modern Athena and Poseidon Rivalry Start?
Back in Greek mythology, Athena and Poseidon had the most fierce competition. The two Greek gods always competed head-to-head over absolute dominance and always raced to see which could give the Athenians the finest gifts and perks. This sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Well, maybe because this story holds a lot of similarities with what Samsung and Apple are going through with their competition. Both companies race each year to come up with the most advanced technologies and offer their customers the best mobile devices and operating systems.
This competition started the minute both companies started to have a significant presence. In 2007, people were all over trying to buy the first iPhone, which would go on to be a very successful and powerful series of smartphones. Sometime later, Samsung decided to enter the smartphone game when smartphones were at their peak and introduced the S series, which also went on to be very popular and somewhat more affordable. Apple saw this as a declaration of war on them. And my, oh my, what a war it was. At this time, Apple decided to take legal action against Samsung, claiming that it copied many of its features. This went on for years, back and forth, with them suing and countersuing each other. Luckily, these cases were settled, but this extreme competition never was.
Product Comparison: iPhones vs. Galaxy smartphones
First, let us start with the most important aspect of the Samsung vs. iPhone comparison, which is the product comparison. Galaxy and iPhone are the most popular smartphone brands to ever exist, according to numbers and stats. The iPhone shined with a futuristic vision and luxurious vibe. From the very first moment, the iPhone was promoted as a one-of-a-kind and lush experience, which is why people didn’t care for the expensive price tag. Year by year, iPhones started to get associated with social status, which created somewhat of an obsession. On the other hand, Samsung played smarter. Firstly, they had a wider range and variety, as they offered two series, A and S. Both series varied in prices, features, and so on to be able to target as many people as they could.
Operating Systems: iOS vs. Android
When it comes to operating systems, we could give this point to iOS. Until now, iOS has been exclusive to Apple products. On the other hand, the Android operating system is not limited to Samsung devices; it can be found on other smartphone brands. This somewhat erased one of the unique selling points that Samsung had. However, this doesn’t mean that Android doesn’t have many advantages. iOS always guarantees maximum security while also offering superior performance. Despite this, it was also very limited when it came to customization options. On the other hand, Android had the perk of many customization options, flexibility with settings, and so on.
Design, Aesthetics, and Features: Apple’s Sleek Simplicity vs. Samsung’s Innovative Features
When it comes to designs, UI, and aesthetics, Apple has always had a futuristic look and feel. Apple focused more on minimal designs to emphasize features by reducing unnecessary elements. Additionally, the aluminum material used always gave iPhones a distinctive appearance. Samsung used a different approach for its designs and features, which included embedding as many innovative features as possible. Every Samsung device is always packed with features, such as widgets, multitasking, and many more. Samsung also didn’t stick to one design, unlike Apple; they tried and implemented a number of designs across their smartphones.
User Experience: Apple’s Seamless Integration vs. Samsung’s Customization Options
Uniformity was always Apple’s first and foremost goal. Apple successfully unified the user experience across all generations of the iPhone, which is a seamless and professional experience that a user would always go back to. Since Apple is in complete control of every aspect of its products, from hardware to software, the user experience is uniform and reliable across all of its products. Because the interface is consistent and the same across all products, users feel more at ease. This can also be seen in its own apps and services, such as iCloud, iMessage, and FaceTime.
The user experience design at Samsung was more inclusive. Samsung encourages users to tailor their experience to their preferences by providing a wide variety of customization options. The ability to multitask, customize the home screen, and set up alerts are all examples of this adaptability. When compared to Samsung devices, Apple's environment is more closed, limiting the number of apps and integrations that users can use to personalize their devices. This is in opposition to Samsung's ability to integrate with third-party apps easily. For instance, a Samsung user could change the default calling app to any of his choices.
Will This Competition Ever Come to an End?
The final question is, is it expected that this fierce competition will come to an end? Well, as much as this competition can have cons, it definitely has many pros that benefit us as users. The rivalry between Samsung and Apple throughout the years has resulted in the emergence of many great technologies and devices that we enjoy to this day. Without Samsung, Apple wouldn’t have thought about giving their users the home screen customization options that came in the last few years. Without Apple’s extraordinary camera features, maybe Samsung wouldn't have thought about advancing the camera features with each new smartphone release until they reached a very state-of-the-art level. Sometimes, competition harms more than it helps. But in this case, the competition continues to offer customers new technologies day by day.