Read the case and apply some relevant theoretical
APPLE VS SAMSUNG: APPLE DIFFERENTIATES AND SAMSUNG IMPERFECTLY IMITATES TECHNOLOGY Apple is not only a product innovator; it creates new markets and The rivalry between the two electronic product companies then dominates them as a first mover. Apple has done this with seems to focus on attempts to produce dominant designs. the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Almost none of its high-tech rivals, Samsung acquired the services of one of the top designers in the such as Dell, Hewlett-packard, Nokia and BlackBerry, have world, Chris Bangle, who gained fame with his designs of cars offered a serious challenge. However, in recent times, Samsung for BMW. The design and product battles are now playing out in has become a successful challenger of Apple. In fact, it has been other product markets, such as tablets, and perhaps smart TVs so successful that Apple took Samsung to court with several and smart watches in the near future. lawsuits for patent infringement, and Samsung took action All of this suggests that Samsung is a formidable competitor against Apple too. Apple won the 2012 lawsuit and a US$1 billion to Apple, but it is still far behind in profits, especially in profits judgment against Samsung. Thus, Samsung appears to be a per unit of sales. For example, during the 2012 Christmas very good imitator - perhaps too good. But in 2014 another huge holiday season, Apple sold 22.9 million iPads while Samsung lawsuit involving seven patents ended up close to a tie: Apple sold 7.6 million tablets. The Apple differentiation strategy based won on five patents while Samsung won on two. There was then on R&D and a superb brand is a winner. a war of words, with Apple saying 'Samsung wilfully stole' ideas Sources: S. Tibken, 2015, Apple versus Samsung patent trial recap, CNET, and Samsung referring to 'grossly exaggerated claims'. May; M.-J. Lee, 2013, Samsung vs. Apple's next battleground: Watches?, Actually, Samsung invests a lot in R&D to design products Wall Street Journal, http://blog.wsj.com, 19 March; R. Pendola, 2013, Apple for existing markets, about three times as much as Apple does - vs. Samsung explained with a burger and fries on Facebook, The Street, importantly, its R&D represents about 5.4 per cent of its annual http://www.thestreet.com, 18 March; H. Shaughnessy, 2013, Samsung vs. Apple: The battle for design dominance, Forbes, http://www.forbes. sales, whereas Apple invests only about 2.2 per cent of its annual com, 17 March; B. X. Chen, 2013, Samsung's new 8-inch tablet takes on sales in R&D. As such, Samsung has been identified as a fast the ipad Mini, New York Times - The Business of Technology, http://bits. second mover in existing markets. In this regard, it is effective blogs.nytimes.com, 23 February; B. X. Chen, 2013, Samsung emerges as at not just imitating but changing features. In fact, it improves a potent rival to Apple's cool, New York Times, 10 February; M. Veverka, on features that are attractive to customers. For example, its 2013, Unplugged: Apple-Samsung showdown has diaper whiff, USA Today, Galaxy 4 smartphone had a 5-inch screen, larger than that of the http://www.usatoday.com, 22 January; K. Eaton, 2013, Apple rumour patrol: 2013 iPhone edition, Fast Company, http://www.fastcompany.com, iPhone 5S and supposedly producing a sharper photo. 11 January
