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Smartphones have sprung up in the mobile industry as the standard configuration for mobile phones. In the telecoms industry, smart phones are considered as one of the most rapid growing market segment. For the first time since 2013, the sales of smart phones with internet connection has skyrocketed and transcended the basic handsets. The global sales for mobile devices increased by 3.6% to about 440 million units in the first 6 months of 2013 and smart phones accounted for more than 50% of the market. The industry is progressive growing with every year and the manufacturers are constantly developing better and appealing devices to their customers’ satisfaction. Currently, more than 60% of the world’s population use smart phone devices (Angyres, Bigelow & Nickerson, 2013).

Smartphones are regarded as commodities in the current generation considering the convenience of the internet to our everyday lives and how they help us get in touch with our folks as well get access to any information. The mobile phone industry is a highly innovative portion in the Information Technology sector, and smartphones are proliferating as the configuration measure for the varieties of these devices. The evolution of technology, as well as the development of new products, has made this industry enormously dynamic, besides the fact that market shares are extremely centralized in the hand of a handful of companies (Corrocher & Zirulia, 2010).

The primary competitors in the smartphone industry include Samsung, Apple iPhone, Huawei, Lenovo, HTC, and Microsoft. Globally, the industry is progressively and consistently growing at a healthy clip, with 22.5% annually growth within the second quarter. The chart below shows the global shares in a percentage of the smartphones

In the smartphone industry, the primary drivers of profitability are the innovation of the products as well as the development of new designs. When we analyze the mobile phone industry’s evolution over time, it is a possible fact that in the early stage of the industry, the various companies employ infrastructural innovations that link to the proliferation of the communication systems of the devices i.e. utilizing digital technologies such as 4G technologies. Moreover, the development of lightweight devices with user-friendly interface have significantly attracted the consumers’ attention and boosted the profitability of the smartphone industry (Angyres, Bigelow & Nickerson, 2013).

Looking at the top two competitors in the industry, Samsung and Apple, they both have their constraints as well as the strengths in the market.

Samsung

The major strengths are:

· It is an internationally recognized brand as well as one of the most popular brands.

· It has a strong brand reputation

· The company produces energy efficient products thus making them an environmentally focused company.

· The company has a very firm R&D department that consistently helps in developing innovative products for their customers.

· It has a huge number of products in its product portfolio thus making it a company with sale stability.

The major constraints include:

· Its products have a high reliance on other company’s software.

· The company heavily relies on consumer electronics and its dependence is greater than other manufacturers.

· It maintains a low-profit margin as compared to other manufacturers.

Apple

The major strengths include:

· It is an internationally recognized brand

· Other than smartphones, the company manufactures a range of products that are known globally such as Apple TV, Mac Books, iPads, iPods, Electric vehicles and Apple energy.

· The company has a huge number of skilled employees who support the production of its innovation.

· The company has an extremely firm financial status

· The company has excellent hardware performance

· It develops its software and operating system for its devices.

The major constraints include:

· Its products are much more costly compared to other manufacturers’ products

· The company has a less variety in the design of its phones

· The company has a narrow product line since its phones designs are limited to one look over the decade.

· The company has a limited network of distribution.

Both of the companies spend most of their finances in research and development. As previously mentioned, the consumers are attracted to light weight, and slim design smartphones and the companies are on track to develop smartphones with based on the customers’ demands and specifications. The production of products to the satisfaction of the customers’ needs significantly boosts the performance of each manufacturer (Corrocher & Zirulia, 2010).

Slide 2:

The competition between the smartphone manufacturers has called for innovations and technologies. A huge percentage of the smartphones have a touch screen. In this concept, most manufacturers have stepped up to improve the display features of the touch screen to make it more appealing and attractive to the customer. For instance, Samsung developed the Amoled screen which gives colors a more vibrant look. This development boosted its sales by almost 10% since it got the attention of more customers. Cameras are other essential features of a smartphone. With the increased use of social media websites and applications, the need of sharing content online with other people has substantially increased. Due to this, the social media users are always on the prowl for smartphones with the best resolution and quality cameras that capture and produce high definition images. This factor has led to the manufacturer's advancements in their developments for high definition cameras incorporated in their smartphone models (Corrocher & Zirulia, 2010).

The need to stay connected and link up all devices has caught the attention of the manufacturers. Apple has developed an interface where an individual can connect all his/her devices to the computer and operate them from it. Furthermore, the company developed an application known as “Find my iPhone” which allows users to trace and track their phones activities and location if they lost it.

Reference

Argyres, N., Bigelow, L., & Nickerson, J. (2013). Dominant designs, shocks in innovation, and the follower's dilemma. Strategic Management Journal

Baum, J. A. C., Korn, H. J., & Kotha, S. (2013). Dominant designs and population dynamics in telecommunications services: Founding and failure of facsimile transmission service organizations, 1965–1992. Social Science Research, 24(2), 97–135

Corrocher, N., & Zirulia, L. (2010). Demand and innovation in services: The case of mobile communications. Research Policy, 39, 945–955.