US smartphone shipments declined 24% YoY in Q2 2023, according to Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor data. This was the third consecutive quarter of YoY declines. Android brands like Samsung, Motorola and TCL-Alcatel saw the steepest declines in shipments, while Apple’s shipments were more resilient. As a result, Apple’s share of shipments increased YoY.
We obviously disagree, so I’ll just conclude with these last few points. With a 6-4 deficit (and getting worse), can you afford to lose ANY features that might drive your customers to your competitions? What is Samsung going to do if Apple decides to suddenly introduce an SD card in their phones (far-fetch, but they did do it with their MacBook Pro)? Bring it back and hope the people who left will come back? That’s a gamble on its own. Enthusiasts are also more likely to shill for your feature-complete phone (I know I talked/recommended several friends into the Note series back in the day). And honestly, other than a folding screen, has enthusiasts have anything to be excited about? Even their folding screens are losing their luster with the lukewarm introduction to the 5 series, and with new competition from Google and Motorola.
At the end of the day, I’m just a consumer. I’m not a shareholder or in Samsung’s C-Suite, so I can only give my opinion as a frustrated user, so I don’t really care about their revenue earnings. I just don’t want to keep losing features for the sake of quarterly earning calls, and I don’t understand people who defend their practices without a financial stake in their company.