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.
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. 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 for 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.
Keep reading...
Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features.
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features.
Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models.
Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos
Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
We're only a few days away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others.
During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
Friday November 21, 2025 3:53 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind.
Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe.
Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
American multinational news company CNN has abruptly pulled its content from Apple News, Semafor reports.
CNN quietly removed its stories from Apple News over the weekend and there is no longer a feed from the network to subscribe to in the app. This effectively ends its distribution agreement with Apple while the two sides negotiate new terms. Discussions are apparently ongoing and CNN's...
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?
