Unsurprisingly, mobile adoption continues to grow. Both Apple and Samsung have experienced enormous smartphone market share unit growth over the past two years, with Apple going from 16% share in Q1 2010 to 22% share in Q4 2012 and Samsung growing from 4% to 29% during the same time period.
Tablet growth has exploded as well, outpacing even smartphone growth. When comparing the first 12 quarters after launch, iPad shipments ramped up three times more quickly than iPhone shipments.
In fact, tablet shipments surpassed both desktop PC and notebook shipments in the fourth quarter of 2012, less than three years after tablets surged in popularity. A similar report from IDC earlier this week confirms the rapid tablet growth, estimating that yearly tablet shipments will surpass notebook shipments by 2013 and the total PC market in 2015.
Other highlights from the report include overall smartphone growth, which is up 28% year over year in the United States and 31% in China, and mobile internet traffic, which now accounts for 15% of total global internet traffic.
Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October.
There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
Tuesday November 11, 2025 9:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the first iOS 26.2 beta last week. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more.
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date....
Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose.
Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 11:42 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While it was rumored that Apple planned to release new versions of the HomePod mini, Apple TV, and AirTag this year, it is no longer clear if that will still happen.
Back in January, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple planned to release new HomePod mini and Apple TV models "toward the end of the year," while he at one point expected a new AirTag to launch "around the middle of 2025." Yet,...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 9:15 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today announced that iPhone users can now create a Digital ID in the Apple Wallet app based on information from their U.S. passport.
To create and present a Digital ID based on a U.S. passport, you need:
An iPhone 11 or later running iOS 26.1 or later, or an Apple Watch Series 6 or later running watchOS 26.1 or later
Face ID or Touch ID and Bluetooth turned on
An Apple Account ...
Tesla is working to add support for Apple CarPlay in its vehicles, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
Tesla vehicles rely on its own infotainment software system, which integrates vehicle functions, navigation, music, web browsing, and more. The automaker has been an outlier in foregoing support for Apple CarPlay, which has otherwise become an industry standard feature, allowing users to...
Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by Juli Clover
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro.
The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 3:29 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple today provided developers with the second beta of iOS 26.2, which adds a few new features worth knowing about.
Measure App
Apple's Measure app now features a Liquid Glass design for the level, with two Liquid Glass bubbles instead of white circles.
Games App
There's now an option to sort games in the Games app Library by size, in addition to Name and Recent.
CarPlay
The...
Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account.
In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 2:49 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Update: It took a day, but Apple has now corrected its Apple Intelligence device compatibility list to show support for the earliest Apple silicon Macs. The original article follows.
Apple's website is causing some confusion among Mac owners, and for good reason – its device compatibility listing for Apple Intelligence appears to have dropped support for M1 Macs.
The U.S. version...
I just think comparing Apple and Samsung is like comparing sales of Porsche and Ford.
If Porsche had a market share matching Ford, that would be considered more significant even if Ford had a slightly larger share. But that comparison wouldn't say alot since they sell to entirely differnt markets.
Remember this. If you ever think about making a car to computer analogy...don't. They're not apt at all.
Apple hardware might sport a slightly better build quality than most of the competition, but they cost about the same, and use roughly the same parts. If this were the case with the car market, then a Porsche and Ford would both cost about $15,000, but the Porsches have better bumpers and look nicer.
I just think comparing Apple and Samsung is like comparing sales of Porsche and Ford.
If Porsche had a market share matching Ford, that would be considered more significant even if Ford had a slightly larger share. But that comparison wouldn't say alot since they sell to entirely differnt markets.
Samsung and iPhone sell to the same markets. You can get both Samsung and Apple phones for free (at least here in the US for example).
Apple isn't a luxury product. You can get them at Walmart. A comparison of Apple to Samsung relating to Porsche and Ford doesn't work as analogous.
This is why Apple takes patent violations very seriously. Technological innovations and design and ease of use features stolen and put on a cheaper product makes a difference. China and other eastern Asian nations like Korea have a long history of stealing trade secretes rather than self innovation. The very history of the start up of Samsung and their corporate culture in the 1970s was to study televisions of the day improve and add on top of the existing technology. This is how they came to be and many other Television companies who could not compete with the low prices died out. I see a lot of comments here the dont take these facts in account when people discuss how apple is being frivolous. If you love Apple and want it to be around 20 years from now, hope they dont do to cell phones, tablets and computers what they did to the TV markets.
Wow - and this has what to do with what in this thread? Or did you just want to rant?
