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Multiple differences between Samsung and Apple:

1. Samsung was a semiconductor maker, that successfully moved up to make phones. Apple was a integrator of third party chips that successfully went down to own many of the chips.

2. Apple's chips are significantly better than the competition. Partly because the chip division has a captive customer whose requirements are more apparent, plus no middlemen thanks to the vertical integration

3. Samsung's components need to serve multiple segments of the phone market, and other external customers. Apple only builds for Apple's specs

4. Every new breakthrough on the iPhone has been because of a chip that Apple alone had. From the very first iPhone's capacitive touch sensors to the new IR sensor system, no one else has the access for a couple phone cycles. Apple put out a 64 bit ARM processor even before arm had finalized the instruction set




Number 4 got me curious about the latency for the competitors catching up with the various hardware advances.

Capacitive touch screen:

  iPhone: June 29, 2007
  HTC Dream/G1: October 20, 2008 (479 days later)
Fingerprint sensor:

  iPhone 5s: September 20, 2013
  Galaxy S5: April 11, 2014 (203 days later)
ARMv8 (64-bit) ISA:

  iPhone 5s: September 10, 2013
  Galaxy Note 4: October 17, 2014 (402 days later)
Tiny bezel:

  Galaxy S6 Edge: April 10, 2015
  iPhone X: November 3, 2017 (938 days later)
OLED screen:

  Samsung Galaxy: June 29, 2009
  iPhone X: November 3, 2017 (3049 days later)


4. Is absolutely wrong in every aspect. Most "innovation" was bought tech (primesense, for instance). The ARMv8 ISA was finalized ages before the chips got designed. Middle of 2011 IIRC.


Having the foresight and capabilities to make the right acquisitions at the right times is just good business. Splitting hairs over whether the technology was internally developed or purchased is irrelevant to the point being made about the exclusivity of the hardware.


True - They bought 3rd party companies with the tech. Still doesn't change the observation that they made it better, and tailored it specifically for the iPhone. None of those sensors have drop in replacements. And Apple put out the 64bit proc prior to ARM having IP --> FACt




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