Apple Inc. exists in a highly competitive technology market, which is rife with constant attempts at upgrading, innovation, and technological espionage. In order to remain at the top of the market, the leading company needs to constantly upgrade its products and services, as any innovation presented to the general public is likely to be copied by the competitors in less than half a year.
Apple competes with other companies in several areas of the technology market. The three largest segments where Apple holds a significant market share are the smartphone segment, which accounts for more than 60% of revenue flows, followed by Macbooks (7%) and iPads (6%). The remainder of the profits is associated with services such as Apple Pay and a myriad of smaller products that did not see large success on the market (Khan et al. 960).
The smartphone segment is where Apple Inc. is the strongest. It holds roughly 40% of market share in the USA, 50% of market share in Japan, 24% of market share in China, and 15-25% market share across Europe (“Smartphones”). In the first quarter of 2018, Apple generated over 61 billion dollars in iPhone sales alone. Its major competitors is Samsung. In terms of capabilities, Samsung phones tend to be ahead of Apple, but do not yet have the same status as Apple cell phones do. Samsung is the primary competitor with Apple in terms of producing luxury phones, and it holds 18.5% of the global market share. Its total number of employees as of 2017 is 489.000 workers (“Smartphones”). The company has a well-diversified array of products ranging from TV to smartphones, computers, and household appliances.
Huawei is second in the line of competitors, with an overall 11% market share. It has over 180.000 workers in its employ and is a primary smartphone producer (“Smartphones”). The company prides itself on innovation and is stated to have a goal to take Apple back step by step. It enjoys the support of the Chinese government as well as access to Chinese cheap labor markets. It offers smartphones in all price ranges, thus being able to grasp a much larger market. Its Flagship smartphones are capable of competing with Apple in terms of innovation and performance .
Sony holds over 7% of overall market share in the global smartphone market. The company’s flagship smartphones, the Xperia line, have always been known for their excellent cameras and fast processors, which caters a certain niche on the market. Sony’s greatest strengths lie in product diversification, soft alliances with other Korean tech companies, and the ability to integrate its technological advancements from other fields into its newest smartphones (Cecere et al. 167). Sony’s number of employees stands at 128.400 workers (“Smartphones”).
In the laptop and computer market, Apple has to compete with many giants such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, Acer, and many other major companies in the segment. Although MacBooks have their own unique features, these features are not enough for the company to reinvent the industry as it did with smartphones, in order to claim a significant market share