Samsung and Apple battle over Smartphone market

Manufacturers of phone devices are locked in intense competition for consumers’ patronage in the smartphone segment to boost their market shares.

The manufacturers are competing for additional market share with the release of new phones such as the iPhone series from Apple and Galaxy from Samsung.

Samsung galaxy s9

The leadership tussle is mainly between Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 and Apple’s iPhone X.

New features being added to ensure greater acceptability include organic light emitting diode, OLED screen, facial recognition (Face ID), wireless-charging support and an upgraded dual camera.

The phone makers have also developed other new camera features which include screen optimizer and flaw detection. Others are larger storage capacity, Desktop experience (DeX) and  aspect ratio display performance, as well as  S Pen (Stylus pen) which is a capacitive and resistive touch screen technology.

Advantages and disadvantages

Vanguard  Companies and Markets’ findings reveal that Apple’s policies are not often fully pro-consumer. Apple’s smartphones and iPhones, do not support expandable memory (no MicroSD slot). It sells its memory cards and phones at high margins, although lower in the low-end capacity iPhones.

Most consumers prefer entry-level iPhone than spend extra on a high-capacity iPhone.

Samsung, however, took a different approach. The Galaxy Note 9 comes with either 128GB or 512GB of internal storage; both models still support expandable storage thanks to a microSD card slot.

The Galaxy Note 9 supports expandable storage and tops 512GB instead of 256GB for iPhone X. So the Note 9 has more available storage out of the box, and you can put a 512GB microSD card for a whopping 1TB of storage.

Experts’ reaction

Managing Director of Belaxoris Nigeria, Ikeja, Lagos, Ikechukwu Mmadu, dealer in variety of high-end phones said: “I cannot say I am surprised at anything Samsung does. Galaxy Note 9 is not the most exciting new smartphone out there, but it is the best option in the world right now if you want a cutting-edge Android phone with plenty of power, killer battery life, and a stunning display despite the fact that it looks almost exactly like Galaxy Note 8. The blue tooth-equipped SPen stylus adds at least some compelling new features into the device.What I can say for certain is that the Note 9 is a terrific modern smartphone that even manages to outshine iPhone X.

On display performance, Stellar Maris Ugwu of Tender Feet Ventures, Agege, Lagos, said: “I have used both manufacturers’ devices, but prefer Samsung Galaxy 9.  There is no question whatsoever that iPhone X has the most beautiful display that has ever been used in an iPhone series. It has the best smartphone display maker. When it comes to fine-tuning colour reproduction, iPhone X’s display is the best in the business but there’s one main problem I have with iPhone X’s screen, and many people share my opinion.

It’s just too tiny at 5.8 inches, but its 19.5:9 aspect ratio means iPhone X’s display has much less real estate than it should. In fact, the 5.5-inch screen on iPhone 8 Plus actually has more surface area than the 5.8-inch screen on iPhone X.

”With Samsung’s OLED screen tech,  Galaxy Note 9 has a similar aspect ratio, it also has a much larger screen that measures 6.4 inches diagonally. It’s also the latest Super AMOLED screen from Samsung, so it’s absolutely gorgeous.

”Apple’s display might have slightly better colour reproduction, but I would take Galaxy Note 9’s screen over iPhone X’s display. Things may change next month when Apple releases alphabet-sized version of the next-generation iPhone X, but for now, Note 9 is the best in the business.”

Consumers’ reaction

C&M  noted that the dual-lens rear camera on Galaxy Note 9 uses the same hardware as the one on Galaxy S9+. A debate as to which camera captures higher-quality photos; consumers had different views. A consumer, Mojisola Isiaka said: “The iPhone X camera is better in some scenarios and S9+/Note 9 camera is better in others.”

A production engineer, Pius Igwe of New Video Production, Isasi, Iba LCDA, Lagos said:

 “For everything consumers say about the Galaxy series, Galaxy Note 9 also has some cool new tricks. Samsung has the Scene Optimizer; Galaxy Note9 camera uses intelligence to identify elements of a photo such as scene and subject, to automatically classify it into one of 20 categories. It then optimises saturation, white balance, brightness and contrast based on the category.
The result is a stunning, life-like image with bold colours and dynamic definition. On flaw detection, I do not always get things right on the first shot, but Galaxy Note9 lets you know if there’s something wrong, so you can take another picture before you lose the moment. You will get an immediate notification if the image is blurry, if the subject blinked, if there is a smudge on the lens or if there is backlight impacting the quality of the image. A consumer will not find those features on any iPhone.”

Another consumer, Francis Agbakoba said: 

”Samsung’s DeX feature is one of the coolest and most novel features to hit the smartphone market in years. I have loved it ever since it first debuted on Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ in 2017. A simple Samsung accessory allows you to transform your Galaxy phone into a full-fledged desktop computer with a keyboard and a trackpad. And I am not talking about mirroring your screen on a monitor.
I am talking about a desktop quality experience with multitasking, keyboard shortcuts and the works. DeX on Galaxy Note 9 gets some important upgrades and the biggest is the fact that you no longer need a special dock or stand. A simple HDMI adapter will let you connect your Note 9 to a monitor and the phone itself becomes the trackpad. Then you can connect any Bluetooth keyboard and you’re good to go. It’s awesome, it’s fast, and unless you need specialised software to do your job, you can easily use DeX instead of a desktop or laptop computer.”