Apple vs Samsung! This ever-evolving debate has been raging for decades. While Apple is usually considered the overall superior of the two, Samsung has also shown its prowess with advanced gadgets and a massive improvement in its ecosystem that may put Apple to shame. The severe competition, as a result, has benefited the consumer, thereby giving us more options than ever.
In 2024 though, the playing field has been shuffled after the recent launches from Seoul and Cupertino. Samsung gave us its first iteration of Gen-AI-equipped smartphones in the Galaxy S24 series at the beginning of 2024, followed by a dozen affordable smartphones from its Galaxy A, Galaxy M and Galaxy F series.
Apple, on the other hand, stunned the world by skipping the rumoured iPhone SE 4th Gen and revamping its high-end iPads instead, complete with an entirely new specifications sheet including the mighty M4 chip.
Although Samsung and Apple are expected to keep wooing us with swanky new releases till the end of the year, we decided to look at everything that these two brands have to offer. We try to derive a conclusion to the Apple vs Samsung debate – the 2024 edition.
Apple vs Samsung: The definitive debate
Smartphones: Samsung’s Galaxy series vs the iPhone
Ever since the dawn of the smartphone era, Apple and Samsung have been going at each other to ascertain dominance over the industry and influence the trends. Apple revolutionised the world with the iPhone in 2007 whereas Samsung democratised the smartphone to the masses and set new trends for everyone else to follow, including Apple.
Even in 2024, both these brands have stuck to these roles, which have helped them survive despite the cut-throat competition from emerging rivals.
While Apple still prefers to position itself as an aspirational and premium smartphone brand, Samsung believes in going for a mass appeal with products scattered across various price points. Samsung’s portfolio has a lot more smartphones catering to various kinds of buyers and that gives it an edge in terms of overall market share in emerging economies. Despite this, Apple continues to dominate the list of the most shipped smartphones every quarter across the world.
Low-end devices: Apple’s lack of presence in the low-end category easily hands over the advantage to Samsung. The South Korean conglomerate relies on entry-level smartphones in the Galaxy A, Galaxy M and Galaxy F series to establish a presence amongst budget smartphone shoppers. While they lack cutting-edge specs and features like some of their Chinese rivals, Samsung’s entry-level phones make up for the deficit by offering additional software features and easy post-purchase service availability.
Mid-range category: The mid-range category is also where Samsung has an edge over Apple. Samsung continues to offer some decently specced phones under its Galaxy A, Galaxy M and Galaxy F series that take into consideration key aspects like design, 5G connectivity, cameras and software updates. Phones like the Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 are among the most popular midrange smartphones that money can buy today.
Apple, however, relies solely on its dated iPhone SE 3rd Gen as well as discounted stocks of the iPhone 12 to appeal to the masses. The dated specs and design of the iPhone SE give it a huge disadvantage over its rival Samsung. Apple doesn’t have any iPhone to offer in this price bracket.
High-end handsets: The high-end category is where balance is restored. Apple’s high-end iPhones are always the key contenders for the best smartphone of a given year. In 2024, it is the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the iPhone 15 that top the list of most premium smartphone buyers. While they may not be laden with trending technologies, these iPhone 15 models focus on delivering a polished core user experience as part of the well-balanced iOS ecosystem.
Samsung, on the other hand, doesn’t shy away from experimenting with new features. The Galaxy S24 range proudly flaunts its Galaxy AI suite of advanced generative AI features to distinguish its user experience from the rest. Their flagship Galaxy S24 Ultra still offers the S Pen stylus and a boastful 200-megapixel main rear camera, something which none of its rivals offer. Other than unique designs, Samsung’s phones now also promise up to seven years of software updates, which makes them preferable for those who hold on to their phones for a long time.
Which brand is more experimental?
Apple has always been conservative in its approach to smartphone evolution and they prefer waiting out the experimental phase before releasing a highly polished version years later. Hence, it is Samsung that comes up as the adventurous kid on the block, offering phones that fold and flip.
Phones like the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 offer a standout user experience that iPhone users haven’t had the luxury to witness yet. Beyond the hardware, it is also the software aspect of these phones that Samsung is open to experimenting with.
While Samsung seems to have an edge in terms of the variety of smartphones, Apple’s approach to the category with its reasonably wide range of iPhones results in this round being tied.
Winner: Tie
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Tablets: Samsung Galaxy Tab vs iPad
Despite relying on the open-source ecosystem that Android is, kudos to Samsung for trying to create an ecosystem where its Galaxy Tab tablets try to offer a cohesive connected device experience. For years, Samsung has invested in its in-house software development to provide a great overall experience and bridge the gap to Windows-based laptops. Samsung’s tablets have extended a lead with multitasking, advanced stylus-based features and ample firepower under the hood.
However, Apple iPads have ruled the tablet segment ever since their inception in 2010. The iPad has always relied on iPadOS to deliver a wholesome tablet experience and even today, it wants to maintain a clear divide between a laptop and a tablet. The iPad’s unbridled performance coupled with state-of-the-art specifications and a well-connected ecosystem means that the iPad is simply unmatched in its category, not just in comparison with Samsung’s tablets but considering every tablet ever made.
Winner: Apple
Computers: Samsung Galaxy Book vs Mac
Apple revolutionised the personal computer space with the Mac several decades ago and to this day, the Mac range remains one of the best computing platforms for casual users, creators, professionals and developers. The macOS platform led the charge with its innovative features like a graphical user interface and folders.
In an age where Windows 11 introduces numerous features without considering their impact on system performance, macOS stays true to its goals of delivering a clean, fuss-free and swift computing experience. The addition of a connected ecosystem with the iPhones, iPads and AirPods gives brownie points to the Mac.
Apple’s move to the M series chips has unlocked powerful yet efficient computing that none of its rivals can match. The MacBook models are known to offer the best battery stamina on any modern-day laptop.
On the other hand, Samsung has been long in the game of manufacturing Windows-based laptops and with the current-gen Galaxy branded PCs, they make some of the most polished Windows laptops today. Despite the efforts to build a connected ecosystem with its Galaxy-branded phones and accessories, the intervening layer of Microsoft Windows prevents a seamless experience as compared to a Mac.
Hence, when it comes to laptops, Apple takes the lead.
Winner: Apple
Smartwatches: Samsung Galaxy Watch vs Apple Watch
Samsung stunned the world in 2013 by releasing its Galaxy Gear smartwatch to the world and ever since then, the South Korean giant has kept innovating in this regard. In 2024, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic are one of the best recommended wearable gear for fitness enthusiasts. Samsung’s watches may rely on an imperfect Google Wear OS platform but the accuracy of the data in its health monitoring is almost unbeatable. When paired with compatible Samsung and Android devices, these watches deliver a great smartwatch experience.
The Apple Watch may have arrived later on the scene but Apple got its priorities sorted right from the beginning. In 2024, the Apple Watch Series 9, Watch Ultra 2 and Watch SE 2nd Gen provide a whole smartwatch experience, provided you have an iPhone in your pocket.
Not only does the Apple Watch get the smart bits right, but the addition of health monitoring systems like ECG, SpO2, heart rate, stress and more make it a reliable wrist companion for health and fitness enthusiasts.
In our personal experiences, the Apple Watch has a slight edge with regards to the smart features whereas the Galaxy Watch 6 is more accurate with its health monitoring solutions.
Winner: Tie
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Earbuds: Galaxy Buds vs AirPods
This is another product category where Apple and Samsung are indistinguishable. The AirPods Pro has set a high benchmark for premium TWS earbuds, especially with its exceptional active noise cancellation (ANC) and easy pairing solutions with the entire Apple ecosystem. Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 Pro manages to match it with its supreme audio tuning as well as great ANC and compact dimensions that gel well with most ear shapes.
Beyond these premium models though, it is Samsung that democratises premium features like ANC, transparency and wider compatibility with a vast range of Android devices. Compared to the dated AirPods 2nd Gen, Samsung’s latest Galaxy Buds FE are cheaper, offer better audio output, fit comfortably and offer great isolation from ambient noise.
Hence, despite the AirPods Pro’s supremacy, Samsung’s well-balanced range of Galaxy Buds wins our hearts.
Winner: Samsung
OS platforms
The debate between Samsung vs Apple often boils down to Android vs iOS, Windows vs macOS and Wear OS vs watchOS. While an in-depth comparison between each of them would be far-fetched, we consider the common point that awards the victory to one of these.
In the case of Apple, the software is designed by the same people who are making the hardware. This means that Apple designs its newest iPhones around the current version of iOS and tunes its MacBooks accordingly for the latest iteration of macOS. A recent example is the iPad Pro 7th Gen and its M4 chip which are designed keeping in mind the upcoming AI-focused iPadOS 18 platform.
Whereas for Samsung, the situation is different. Samsung has to rely on Google and Microsoft for the operating system and design its product around these open-source licensed platforms. This often leads to a mismatch in compatibility and seamlessness between the products. The overall performance also suffers as a result of the long term regardless of Samsung working with its partners to better tune the platforms.
Hence, Apple wins this round by a huge margin.
Winner: Apple
Innovations for future
When it comes to innovation, Apple and Samsung are usually heading towards different goals.
As far as Apple is concerned, augmented reality (AR) is the future and its Vision Pro headset is paving the way to make AR mainstream. Based on visionOS, the Apple Vision Pro headset aims to unify the categories of smartphones, laptops, tablets and wearables, thereby making our lives easier.
Despite an exorbitant price, the AR headset is where Apple sees the future of its mobile devices and software platforms. A greater focus is present on making the hardware more power efficient for this platform, something which the MacBooks are happy to flaunt lately.
However, AR headsets have been around for years and Apple’s implementation demands a lot of investment for the qualitative approach as compared to Meta’s quantitative approach with the Quest series of headsets.
Samsung, on the other hand, has its priorities set elsewhere. Being mostly a follower of the trends set by Apple, Samsung is pursuing foldable phones as its future and the integration of digital health monitoring in smart rings. While the foldable phone has helped Samsung cement its presence in the smartphone space, the rest of its ventures aren’t cutting-edge. Smart rings have already been around for a while and generative AI features appeared on Google’s Pixel smartphones a year ago.
Although this section is bound to subjective approaches, our vote goes to Apple for considering AR as the platform to fuse our daily gadgets.
Winner: Apple
Apple vs Samsung: Our verdict
Winner: Apple
For more than a decade, Apple has always stood strong as the trendsetter in the consumer electronics segment and their dedication to innovation has always kept them ahead of the curve. Hence, despite Samsung catching up to Apple with rapid evolution in its products, the Apple vs Samsung debate still leans in favour of Apple in 2024.
Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones, tablets and watches are some of the best in the business but the South Korean giant is still at the mercy of third-party software platforms. Despite the best of efforts, Samsung struggles to uphold the fluidity with which a global ecosystem should function. Moreover, the mentality of copying Apple has given Samsung a notable disadvantage over the years, something which is quite prominent in 2024.
As for Apple, it certainly is no longer the innovative technology firm that it once was under the guidance of its former CEO and Founder, Steve Jobs. However, Apple’s vision (no pun intended) for the future includes solidifying the basics today. The iPhone doesn’t have as many features as its Samsung counterpart but it continues to offer a reliable, polished and privacy-oriented experience.
The Apple Watch lineup has earned a reputation for being a must-have health-monitoring gadget whereas the Mac remains the computer of choice for artists, creators, developers and all those who seek intelligent computing. The huge investment in the development of Apple Silicon as well as custom software platforms with an integrated ecosystem has paid dividends for Apple and hence, awards it the win in our debate.
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(Hero and Featured Image Credits: Courtesy Apple and Samsung)
