It would be safe to say that 2016 will not go down as a happy memory for Samsung. The year started on a promising note with Galaxy Note 7 getting splendid reviews from tech experts and users alike. But reviews aren’t of much use when devices start exploding in your face! Samsung was forced into a global recall of the Note 7 and things went downhill from there.
Apple’s iPhone 7 hit the stores just in time to steal the disgruntled Note 7 customers. To makes matter worse, comparative tests found iPhone 7 to be much superior to Note 7. By the end of the year, Apple had not just eaten Samsung’s profits, but also took over the number 1 smartphone vendor crown.
As if the mega failure of its flagship device and the resultant market share loss wasn’t enough to confirm 2016 as a horror year for Samsung, a new study has declared that Apple’s 2-year-old phone – iPhone 6S – has beaten all new Samsung devices to emerge as the number one selling smartphone of 2016. That’s gonna hurt!
A report published by IHS Markit, a respected name in critical information, analytics and solutions domain, has listed the names of top selling smartphones for 2016. Apple dominates the list by capturing top 4 spots, with Samsung claiming 5 of the remaining 6 places.
It might seem surprising that the older iPhone 6S outsold the latest iPhone 7 but it makes sense when you consider that iPhone 7 went on sale only in the last quarter of the year. The real surprise is that the iPhone 6S dominated the latest Samsung models as well.
The iPhone 7 vs Galaxy Note 7 race was a non-starter with the latter forced to withdraw prematurely. But we expected Samsung to put up a tough fight against the older iPhones.
The humiliation must surely be killing Samsung and we know that they aren’t going to take it lying down. Just a couple of days back, Samsung announced the gorgeous looking S8 and S8+. It’s a clear message to the world that they are coming back with a vengeance.
As Apple fans, we are also cheering for Samsung to make a strong return. It will push Apple to bring out their A game if they want to maintain their lead. A weak opponent guarantees a win, but a tough antagonist makes the victory epic!
