As Apple and Samsung continue to dominate smartphone sales, and smartphone market share, the two companies could now be seen as equal competitors. A new analyst report this week shows that Samsung has even caught up to Apple in the minds of consumers.
The report, put out by analyst firm TrendForce, shows that Samsung now trails Apple in smartphone brand recognition by only 1%. When asked what brands come to mind when they hear the word “smartphone,” 80.6% of consumers surveyed said Apple, and 79.6% said Samsung. HTC and Nokia are far behind in brand recognition, coming in at 28.4% and 27.2%, respectively.
The TrendForce report also surveyed customers on which smartphone brands they use most and which they anticipate purchasing. Samsung dominated both questions, with over one-quarter of survey respondents saying they use Samsung most (iPhone was second with 12.5%) and a full 27.7% saying they hope to purchase a Samsung smartphone in the future (Apple was again second, with 20.9%).
Also of note in the report is that Chinese smartphone brands such as Xiaomi, Lenovo, and Huawei are enjoying an increase in brand recognition while Nokia and HTC fall. These same companies also show rising trends for the most-used smartphone and the smartphone purchase anticipation categories. TrendForce predicts, as other analysts have, that mid-priced smartphones from Chinese manufacturers will continue to compete as the smartphone market grows in developing markets, such as China, Brazil, and India.
