New battle in Apple and Samsung war with exploding phones and dumped headphone jacks

Apple has launched its iPhone 7, which will be water resistant and come without a headphone jack.

Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphones are displayed at a Samsung showroom. Picture: AFP/JUNG YEON-JE

WITH exploding flagship phones on one side and audiophiles angry by the removal of the headphone jack on the other, the smartphone war between Samsung and Apple has entered a new phase.

Samsung is facing long-term reputational damage that will resonate with potential smartphone buyers long after its current crisis has resolved. And Apple, with declining iPhone sales, continues the hard sell in a mature smartphone market of delivering evolutionary improvements when some people demand an annual revolution.

A few weeks ago, when Samsung launched the Note7 to rave reviews, the South Korean technology giant had nosed ahead.

Melbourne business analyst Tham Hua's Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphone reportedly burst into flames while charging overnight, causing $1800 damage to his hotel room. Picture: Supplied.Source:Supplied

But that was before dozens of phones burst into flames, and Samsung was forced to recall the phones, sending its market value into a $13 billion free fall.

Last week when Apple came to the plate, it was in the position to hit a home run. And while the dual-lens camera in the iPhone 7 Plus does take smartphone photography to a new level, some of the other announcements were not as well received.

A water resistance rating for the iPhone 7 was seen, rightly so, as playing catch up and the decision to drop the headphone jack polarised people.

Some analysts praised Apple for being willing to force a change, like when it produced a iMac without a floppy disk drive.

"Apple has a history of doing what it wants and making people believe that it's the best idea ever," Forrester Research analyst Julie Ask told The New York Times.

Following the recall of millions of Samsung Galaxy Note 7s last week, air-safety regulators in the U.S. are urging passengers to avoid using the mobile phones on airliners. The FAA is concerned they are a potential fire hazard. Image: AP

But there were plenty of people who mocked Apple for eliminating a universal standard and dismissed the AirPod earphones as likely to be lost, likely to be swallowed, and likely to make the wearer look like they are storing the head of their electronic toothbrush in a very foolish place.

The reality is that both Apple and Samsung are looking ahead to tough times. Samsung has to overcome the fear factor that will be associated with its product in the wake of the exploding smartphone problem and Apple has to overcome the backlash over the audio jack and the belief by some that Apple has been holding off a major update of the iPhone range for the 10th anniversary next year.

Leading technology analyst Jan Dawson, of Jackdaw Research, says the Samsung Note7 recall will definitely help Apple — not that Apple is likely to admit it.

The Apple AirPods, the tech giant's first wireless headphones. Picture: Stephen Lam/Getty Images/AFPSource:AFP

"Apple has never cared about Samsung as much as Samsung cares about Apple — at least not publicly," Dawson said.

IDC predicts worldwide smartphone shipments will reach 1.46 billion units this year, which is just a 1.6 per cent growth and dramatically lower than the 10.4 per cent growth the industry recorded last year.

Developed markets, such as the US, Europe, and Australia, are largely to blame, where the smartphone market is expected to have a -0.2 per cent growth.

IDC senior research analyst Jitesh Ubrani, in the Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers report, highlighted the problem that both Samsung and Apple face: "smartphone innovation seems to be in a lull as consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with 'good enough' smartphones".

With the Note7, exploding battery issues aside, Samsung delivered an impressive smartphone that offered an Iris scanner and a clever design.

A man tests out an iPhone 7 Plus. Picture: AFP/Josh EdelsonSource:AFP

With the iPhone 7 Plus, Apple has taken the world's most popular camera and made it significantly better, further eliminating the need for a separate camera for many people. Then there is the closed ecosystem of Apple, which is both one of the key advantages of the iPhone particularly when it comes to security risks like ransomware and one of the biggest issues that Android fans object to.

Tech analyst Patrick Moorhead, writing in Forbes, is particularly bullish about Apple in the wake of the iPhone 7 launch with what he calls a "major upgrade".

"I believe the new iPhone 7 Plus camera could be a true game changer as I can argue it now competes with entry DSLRs," Moorhead says.

The battle between Samsung and Apple is a tight one.

Last year, according to IDC figures, Samsung was the leader in the worldwide smartphone market with 324.8 million shipments, ahead of Apple which 231.5 million, with Huawei leading the charge of "others' that recorded remarkable growth.

Samsung will recall the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone globally over battery issues.

So what does the future hold?

Dawson says the key to understanding the smartphone market is to look beyond this year's model compared to last year's. People tend to upgrade their smartphones every two years, so to truly assess the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus you have to look at what it offers to lure people to upgrade from their iPhone 6.

Kantar WorldPanel figures show the iPhone 6S was the biggest selling phone in the past 12 months, although the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus account for the largest share of Apple's installed base.

Those iPhone 6 users are looking to upgrade and the biggest issue for those people, according to Kantar WorldPanel, is battery life, the quality of the camera and storage capacity.

Apple has angered people by ditching the headphone jack. But by ditching the headphone jack, it has used that space to improve the camera in the iPhone 7 and given it a better battery. And it has increased the storage capacity across the iPhone range.

What features in a smartphone do people really care about? This is the year we're about to find out.

Source: New battle in Apple and Samsung war with exploding phones and dumped headphone jacks