Apple Is Winning The Handset Game… For Now

Since the dawn of smartphone time, Apple and Samsung have been battling for the throne. Today, according to research by Counterpoint, Apple currently wears the crown, selling the more iPhones this quarter than any other handset and handily beating out all other rivals with iPhone representing 87 percent of all handsets sold in this quarter alone.

Still, Android is the OS of choice for many, as the Google-baked operating system accounted for 59.2 percent of sales within the US this quarter while iOS only made up 36.9 percent of sales. Windows Mobile and Blackberry are still struggling with less than 4 percent and 1 percent of the market respectively.

Of the top four smartphone retailers, Apple took home the most sales at the three largest (AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint) while Samsung walked away with the T-Mobile title. Here’s the breakdown of what percentage of carrier sales were iPhone: AT&T (52 percent), Verizon (51 percent), Sprint (36 percent). On the whole, smartphone sales are up 7 percent from a year ago this time.

This may not always be the case. While Apple limits itself to a few beautiful, premium devices each year, Samsung floods the market with cheap-to-build handsets of all shapes, sizes and prices. This means that fluctuating handset supply could swamp Apple – or force Samsung to take a quarter to build another flagship. It is, as they say, anyone’s game.

While Apple iterates slowly and deliberately with the hopes to get as many customers as possible to upgrade on a yearly basis, Samsung makes the most usable and affordable Android handsets on the market.

Is it fair to compare Apple’s slow and steady pace with Samsung’s spray and pray technique? Not really, but those two are the only players in town with any clout. While we may be comparing Apples and, well, Androids, this battle will wage long into the future as long as both manufacturers keep updating and improving.