Apple’s Dominance in Smartphones

Samsung might be considered the world’s most popular android smartphone with consumers spread across the globe, but Apple is still dominating the overall market. In 2021, Apple dominated the United States smartphone market, claiming 80% of the overall revenue and the trend is continuing in 2022.

The United States is Apple’s most popular market for its iPhone range, making it a reliable source for the company’s overall revenue. According to data released by Counterpoint Research, Apple dominated over 50% of the US market in the last four years, registering a 14% annual growth.

Apple dominated 23.4% of the global smartphone market in Q4 2021, a significant increase from the third quarter of the year. Its long-time rival, Samsung, closely followed the company by claiming a 19% market share.

The two companies have remained among the top five smartphone vendors in the globe since 2009, and their consumers can use their devices to access the Happy Luke Link and other gaming platforms. Both Samsung and Apple significantly increased their market presence with the fall of previous leaders RIM and Nokia. Additionally, they recently benefited from the political pressure and restrictions that saw Huawei dropping off from the US market.

Why Apple Dominates the Smartphone Market

While most market experts analyze companies based on their financial performance, market share, and growth rates, Apple’s management team focuses on customer satisfaction rates. After all, the company can attract and satisfy its customers to drive retention and recommendations through word of mouth in consumer goods. That’s Apple’s ingenious driver of the measurable reports that market analysts use to measure their success every year.

From that perspective, the iPhone manufacturer is a business of creating supporters for their products instead of customers. The company creates and maintains supporters to thrive. It’s these supporters that are responsible for the large-scale adoption of their new smartphones. The mass adoption is also driven by the expectations of what the company will offer considering their experience with existing smartphones. However, this loyalty measure isn’t easy to measure or obtain and it isn’t an item in any financial report.

iPhone users don’t purchase into the idea of a smartphone but instead, want the experience. These supporters are buying simplicity, productivity, and convenience. These users are also willing to buy other Apple components to pair with their smartphones and be part of the overall ecosystem. Some of these users are buying satisfaction, while others buy into vanity and hope.

 Most iPhone users also trust Apple’s reputation in creating products they think have the qualities they like, even without knowing what’s on offer. That’s why iPhone loyalists and enthusiasts employ a lot more time and energy looking for upcoming smartphones than customers of other brands. This repetitive action from their consumers allows Apple to know how to exploit their smartphone offering and eventually give them a sense of satisfaction.

How Does Apple Create a Sense of Satisfaction?

While most smartphone manufacturers believe they are customer-focused, most of them don’t fully understand how to be truly collaborative with their buyers. The strategy involves co-creation, a process that gives the customers the power to develop highly personalized products for them and their peers to create richer experiences.

When developing a new iPhone smartphone, Apple stops treating its users as mere customers and gives them a sense of contribution to the final experience. It’s during this process that their consumers turn into loyalists, creative partners, and marketers.

Apple joined the highly competitive smartphone market in 2007 when it first released its iPhone line. During the time, leading players like RIM’s Blackberry and Nokia dominated the smartphone market and each was powered by its own operating system.

Like the others, the iPhone offered more than most phones. The smartphone was a technology platform featuring proprietary apps and the ability to develop more. Their App Store allowed them to rapidly take over the market in terms of revenue and customer satisfaction compared to its competitors. That’s because the App Store made it simple for app developers to publish their custom apps and sell them to a global audience. Additionally, the developers earned 70-85% of the revenue from their sales.

Compared to other smartphone operating systems at the time, the iPhone had high technological capabilities and flexibility with low entry barriers. iPhone also allowed its consumers to incorporate different aspects of its hardware, including GPS and motion sensor systems when building their apps. That resulted in a flood of applications on their platform and Apple successfully integrated its smartphone into people’s lives.

The flood of apps on the App Store also allowed Apple to improve its systems in a short time, making iOS the most stable operating system in the smartphone market. Their superior build quality has also made iPhone a highly desirable product in the premium smartphone market, unlike other competitors that try to drive sales through cost.

Will Apple lose its Grip on the Smartphone Market this Year?

While some say that iPhone will lose its grip on the smartphone market due to the lack of cutting-edge innovations like other competitors, its marketing strategy has remained consistent and potent. As such, Apple will remain among the top three smartphone manufacturers in the next few years.