“What a difference a year has made in the smartphone business,” Richard Waters writes for The Financial Times. “Twelve months ago, Samsung was riding high… Apple, by contrast, was facing a tough reassessment from Wall Street as its growth slowed and gross margins slipped.”
“With the subsequent launch of the iPhone 5s and 5c, it felt like smartphone innovation had come to an end,” Waters writes. “Apart from a design makeover for the software, the annual product rethink was distinguished mainly by the 5c, a case of old hardware dressed up in new plastic.”
MacDailyNews Take: you know, because the world’s first 64-bit smartphone and Touch ID, neither of which Samsung (or any other iPhone knockoff assembler) has matched, is meaningless.
“Things look very different today. A new phase in the smartphone wars is unfolding, and Apple once again has the chance to define the terms of engagement,” Waters writes. “Apple’s decision to keep betting on the most profitable part of the smartphone market is paying off. Its share of total smartphone profits had already bounced back to 65 per cent in the first quarter of 2014.”
Apple Inc. “shares have soared 60 per cent over the past year as profit margins have stabilised and Wall Street has warmed to the new willingness to distribute excess cash flow to shareholders,” Waters writes. “This has added $230bn to its stock market value – considerably more than the entire market value of Samsung, whose shares have languished over the same period.”
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MacDailyNews Take: Bu, bu, but… market share! 😉
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What we mean by ‘Hee Haw demographic’ – November 13, 2013