New data shows that Apple’s smartphone OS and Samsung’s U.S. market share is now tied, with iOS up 3.7 percentage points year over year to achieve 35 percent market share, while Samsung only grew 0.8 points, reaching a 35.2 percent share.
According to TechCrunch and new data from Kantar Wordpanel, weaker sales through Verizon hurt Samsung. Meanwhile, Apple was able to reach nearly 50 percent with the same carrier — the nation’s largest. That’s higher than its share with AT&T, which has been a stronghold for the iPhone.
But while Samsung and iOS are tied, it’s important to note that Android is still far ahead in the U.S., with a 63.2 percent share to iOS’s 35 percent. And recent reports could signal that the company might be able to get an even stronger lead in the near future.
Forbes reported that Samsung has confirmed a radical new Galaxy X smartphone that has everyone talking. A statement from Samsung’s President of Mobile, Koh Dong-jin, announced that the company will release a foldable touchscreen smartphone in 2018.
Of course, Apple responded in kind, first with the news that the company has partnered with LG to create a “task force” to build an iPhone with a foldable OLED display. In addition, Apple has now publicly filed patents detailing its plans to match Samsung’s Android innovation. The patent goes into further detail, explaining that the display would need to be OLED and enclosed in a suitably rigid housing so its shape is retained both when open and folded.
However, reports say that Apple’s efforts won’t come to fruition until 2020, which would give Samsung a two-year headstart with its Galaxy X.
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