Study and compare the SWOT analysis of two firms that

are competitors of each other.

NAME: TAVISHI BANKA

CLASS: 11B
YEAR: 2021-2023
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my profound gratitude and sincere thanks to Mrs Shukla, my

business studies teacher who guided me through the project and also
give me valuable suggestions and guidelines for preparing the project
stock to has helped me understand the important items highlighted and
remember important details of the project.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.NO TOPIC PAGE NO

1. INTRODUCTION 2

2. SWOT ANALYSIS 3

3. CONCLUSION 16

4. BIBLIOGRAPHY 18aboutis the

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INTRODUCTION
Background of Apple
Apple is an American technology
company founded by Steve Jobs, Steve
Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in April
1976. Incorporated in 1977, the
company was one of the early
manufacturers of personal computing
devices with a graphical user interface.
Over the years, the company also
forayed into other consumer electronics
segments like mobile smartphone
devices, digital music players,
notebooks, and wearables. The
company develops and markets a range
of related software services,
accessories, and networking solutions.

Apple has been known to be at the forefront of innovation. The company was among
the first to develop an app-based ecosystem for smartphones. It was the first
smartphone maker to introduce touchID — a fingerprint scanner module to unlock a
device — and use 64-bit processors, both of which were later also adopted by most
other smartphone manufacturers.
 
Apple’s services have so far been exclusive to its products. However, in March 2019,
the company announced that its subscription-based TV Plus service will be available
as an app on televisions from other brands, too.
 
Background of Samsung
Samsung, a South Korean company that
is one of the world’s largest producers of
electronic devices. Samsung specializes
in the production of a wide variety of
consumer and industry electronics,
including appliances, digital media
devices, etc. It has become one of the
most recognizable names in technology
and produces about a fifth of South
Korea’s total exports.

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Samsung story begins in 1969 when the

company was born with the ambition to
help
people achieve the impossible.
After over 50 years, Samsung is still
innovating, creating technology that
breaks
down old and new barriers, and helping
people to do what they cannot.

SWOT ANALYSIS

Strength of Apple

Innovative Products, Unique Designs

Apple's ability to design its hardware,
software and other products helps it
rank among the ones at the top of the
ladder. Each year, their new products
add on to the predecessor and
improvise on the design, usability,
and easiness of the product. It's one
of the reasons why their brand still
manages to capture the market
despite high prices. In June 2020 had
made an announcement that would
push the experience of Apple
platforms and products even further -
from macOS Big Sur, featuring the
biggest design upgrade since the
introduction of Mac OS X, to watch
OS 7, the new App Library in iOS 14,
and enhanced handwriting
capabilities with Apple Pencil in iPad
OS 14, here were some of the most

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groundbreaking features and app

development tools.

Introduction of New Services

Owing to the advent of several new
technologies in terms of digital
streaming and payments, Apple has
been successful in launching
coronavirus audiovisual decline
tariffs. Apple TV, Apple Music,
iTunes, and Apple Card, and Apple
Arcade are among the new services
to be launched and improved. Apple
Music has 72 million subscribers,
Apple TV has over 40 million users.
 
Organizational Culture
Apple’s main purpose is to create
products that enrich people’s daily
lives. Apple’s ability to deliver
high-quality products and stand atop
the innovation ladder is solely
possible because of its culture.
Striving for innovation, change,
creativity as a whole and imposing
this mindset has helped them
uncover brilliant ideas and develop a
strong internal brand culture.

Technological Excellence
Compromise in quality is what
disrupts a businesses' market share.
Apple's been working on top-notch
technology and developing products
with a focus on quality, and that's
what boosts their brand loyalty.
Apple hardware, software and
services work together to deliver a
seamless experience. One can start
a project on Mac and finish it on

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iPad, use screen side by side to

extend workspace and even draw
with Apple Pencil on iPad or use
iPhone to make live updates on Mac.
It is all compatible with apps from
Microsoft and Google, which helps to
get any job done.

Usage of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has
transformed so many industries and
the IT industry cannot be kept
away. Apple is a tech giant that has
adopted AI as its integral part and
uses it to pitch to consumers.   
Apple has adopted a quieter and
smarter approach towards AI. In its
announcements about iOS, iPad,
and macOS, in June 2020, Apple
gave a hint about several features
and updates that had AI – face
recognition home kit and Native
sleep tracking for the Apple watch. 

Weaknesses of Apple

Limited Distribution Network

Apple Inc. has a limited distribution

network because it sells its products
by itself, and few stores are
scattered all around the world. Unlike
other smartphone products you can
easily get by just walking into a
phone store, it's very rare to get
apple products like that. It also adds
to the burden of getting after-sale
services, as only apple stores can be
trusted to provide their products.
Most people who buy, do so directly
from their website. The major

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disadvantage of this is that it limits

market reach.

Incompatibility with Other Software’s

When a customer buys an Apple

product, they enter into the Apple
Universe. Apple's products are
notorious for being compatible with
Apple's accessories. Lack of ports,
unique charger cables, and missing
jack ports – although these serve to
be innovative designs, these also
increase the cost of add-ons. The
fact that third-party items or software
don't work is a primary reason
they're incapable of targeting an
audience that wishes for these
features.

High Price Product

Apple's premium pricing is a

significant concern for many. The
high-profit margin has been the
reason the product has only
managed to target an elite class of
people despite their audience being
general smartphone users. In India,
especially, people are more inclined
to shift to less economical options
like Samsung.

Unfair Business Practices

Apple has been accused of using

tracking apps on its phone, which
revealed the precise location of
users. Apple is under investigation
for unfair business practices as well.

Entering into the area of non-competency

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Apple is rapidly expanding into new

services such as video content
streaming and game streaming.
Apple is competing with dominant
players such as Netflix, Disney,
Amazon Prime etc. One should not
forget the failure of Apple Maps in
2012.

Opportunities for Apple

Brand Loyalty

Apple has created a premium image

in the mind of the customers
associated with style, status, and
customization boosting its sales.
Apple’s product announcements and
unveiling events spread like wildfire.
Apple has a  customer retention rate
of 92%. Apple always relies on the
power of the internet for future
opportunities to gain new customers
and form new alliances.

Qualified Professionals

Apple’s researchers, developers and

product specialists are a team of
highly qualified professionals that
have years of experience in
branding customer products. With
the expansion of their team, Apple
can continuously build new
opportunities.

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Smart Wearable Technology

Apple is already the biggest player

in wearable technology, which
currently includes the Apple Watch
and its iconic AirPods and AirPods
Pro. Wearables also represent one
of the company's most important
areas of future growth. Recently the
company is working on Augmented
Reality (AR) glasses, which is
expected to launch in 2022.

Partnerships and Acquisitions

Apple’s acquisition strategy focuses

on getting talented technical staff
from smaller companies, often
valuing those companies in terms of
the number of engineers working
there, and quickly and quietly
integrating them into teams at Apple.
 In 2017, Apple bought an iPhone
app for power users called Workflow,
which is the basis for the Shortcuts
app. In 2018, it bought Texture,
which emerged as Apple News, its
subscription news service. Even Siri,
its voice assistant, was the result of
a 2010 acquisition.

Threats to Apple

Market Capture by Competitors

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The entire ecosystem for

smartphones and the industry is
changing, and it's opening up
opportunities for competitors to
penetrate the market. Just a
comparison of the market share
between Android and iOS
smartphones suggests it's about
74.13% to 24. 79% share,
respectively. This could also be due
to several brands working on the
open-source Android smartphone
development.

Coronavirus Outbreak and Global Tensions

Most companies rely on their

manufacturing and supply chain
setup in China. Unfortunately, the
outbreak of the novel virus has
managed to damage up to 20% of
Apple's annual revenues until April
2020, especially in countries like
China, Italy, South Korea, and The
United States. The revenue was
expected to be between $63bn -
$67bn, but it was only able to $57bn,
which is a 15-20% drop. Apple’s
supply chain was also affected by
the same, and Apple reported a flat
revenue in the year 2020 due to
supply chain uncertainties pertaining
to the corona virus outbreak.
Secondly, the increase of tariff on
imports from China can lead to
higher pricing for the products. This,
in turn, adversely affects the gross
margins and pricier for the
customers. Considering the first
threat, a combination is a damaging
blow.

Lawsuits
Apple is actively dealing with
hundreds of lawsuits. Consumers
mainly open these in regards to their
phones being slowed down and the
CPU rates being throttled. According
to recent news, Apple is to pay $18M
to settle a lawsuit for slowing or

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disabling FaceTime on older iPhone

models.    

Strength of Samsung

Top Five International Global Brand

Samsung has been ranked in the top five
international best global brands.
Samsung Electronics is a global leader in
consumer electronics, semiconductors,
telecommunications, and digital media
technologies.

Market Share

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Samsung maintains a substantial

market share in most product
categories.

Smartphone market dominates

Samsung has been leading the

smartphone market for years. According
to Gartner, Samsung held the No. 1 spot
globally in the first quarter of 2020 with a
market share of 18.5 percent while Apple
had a market share of 13.7 per cent.

Award-Winning Brand
For over two decades, Samsung India
has been committed to transforming
people’s lives through its products and
social initiatives. Every year, leading
institutions recognise Samsung India for
its various initiatives as well as product
design & innovation in audiovisual, home
appliance, IT and telecom product
categories. Samsung Electronics has
received a record high of 71 awards at
the world-renowned International Forum
(iF) Design Award 2021.

Ecologically Friendly Technologies

Samsung Electronics gives the utmost
priority to the environment i.e., from the
moment product planning begins until a
product’s final disposal. The company

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looks thoroughly into a product’s

environmental impact at each step --
from product design to logistics,
distribution and take-back. This process
helps the company in minimum usage
of resources in manufacturing,
eliminating unnecessary packaging,
distributing efficiently, and recycling
products effectively at end-of-life.

Asian market power

Samsung maintains leadership in Asian
markets, particularly India and China.
Both the business markets of India and
China are greatly rising. Samsung has
taken advantage of the potential markets
in these countries.

Technology
Samsung Electronics has provided its
latest innovation to its consumers i.e.,
the official launch of One UI 3, the
latest operating system to its Galaxy
devices. It brings an exciting new
design, enhanced everyday features
and deep customization. The company
was the first to launch dual-screen
mobiles, 65k colour TFT / LCD phones,
first polyphonic ringtone phones,
revolving lens phones, thinnest and
lightest notepads and many more
products.

Weakness of Samsung

The decline in mobile sales

After 2017, Samsung has witnessed a
downturn in smartphone sales. A
similar trend was followed in China
because of the Chinese market’s price
sensitivity. Many of those items are
dumped on the Indian market at a
cheaper cost, affecting the sales of
Samsung. In India, Samsung wanted to

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turn additional attention, but that

approach did not yield meaningful
results for the business.

Product defects
Any product that places customers’ lives
at risk erodes faith and interest in the
brand. Samsung’s every launch has not
been perfect. Samsung Galaxy Note 7
and Samsung Galaxy A20e exploded
and caught fire.

Low-end mobile dependency

A significant majority of Samsung’s
revenue comes from low-end handset
sales. Low-End handset sales have
declined because of the availability of
high-end devices at lower prices.
Samsung Sales is declining at a rapid
pace. The company has to concentrate
on product pricing and use effective
marketing strategies to compete with its
competitors.

Hereditary Leadership
Samsung has always been under the
family‘s leadership for three decades
since its founding. While retaining
leadership within the family has given
Samsung tremendous stability, due to a
lack of fresh ideas, the business will
stagnate. Samsung’s successor Jay Lee
has promised to terminate dynastic
succession despite being dogged by
many controversies.

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Opportunities of Samsung

Triple Protection Proposal

Samsung is planning to launch its latest
air conditioning device called the ‘Triple
Protection Proposal’ which combines
cutting-edge technology and impeccable
design. The item is directed towards a
target consumer base that will guarantee
full retention of consumers.

HR Management
Samsung needs to spend on its HR
management, it will make remarkable
transformation achievements. It would
not only be beneficial for its revenues
but also give it a negotiating advantage
over its competitor. To boost job morale
and retention, the organisation should
leverage its market value to attract
highly experienced and skilled workers.

5G Technologies
Samsung has the potential and
know-how to harness the ability as the
world transitions to 5G. The business is
currently in intensive contractual
negotiations to sell 5 G and 6 G network
infrastructure to operators in the EU. In
the UK‘s ranking of future 5 G operators,
Samsung is one of the biggest firms.

Introduce Creative Devices

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The technology market is extremely

diverse and, at a moment, the
innovations go out of control. By
creating the trend with great and
creative products such as the foldable
phone, Samsung can achieve
tremendous growth.

Threats of Samsung

Patent Infringement Controversies 

Samsung has been involved in
controversies that have threatened its
business. Its rival Apple filed a
lawsuit against Samsung for patent
infringement which underwent a heated
court battle for seven long years until
finally settling. However, the company
suffered consequences when a
jury decided that Samsung had indeed
copied Apple and was to pay $1.049
billion in damages. This suit damaged
the company’s reputation and its sales.

Increased Competition
Competition from opponents has
reached a record level, especially from
those in the consumer electronics,
digital devices, and computing
industries. If it’s Xiaomi, Apple or
Huawei, all the competitive rivals are
manoeuvring and outperforming each
other to become the best company in
technology. This further puts the burden
on Samsung, both in terms of
competitiveness and financing.

Legal and regulatory challenges

With the environment becoming more
globalized and technologically focused,
political agencies have started to release
directives that are growing legal and
regulatory challenges to businesses
around the globe. Samsung is no
exception to such requirements. Laws
vary from market to market, and a
hindrance to activities is generated by

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these stringent regulations. Failure to

adhere could also result in the respective
market being fully shut down which could
be fatal for Samsung.

Economic instability
Recent developments have catalysed
global market instability and led to a
20.2% fall in new smartphone revenues
in Q1 2020. Financial difficulties caused
many customers to search for
discarded or rehabilitated telephones,
which rose by 24 per cent. Samsung
has already undergone a revenue
downturn, and if doubt continues, it
could drop further.

Impending Court Cases

Any leadership disturbance could impact
performance. A South Korean court is
considering whether Samsung’s
chairman and successor Jay Lee should
be sent back to prison. The executive
has been dogged with fresh accusations
of stock-price fraud and audit-rule
breaches and threatens to push the
business without management into
another turbulent era

CONCLUSION

Apple and Samsung continue to try to bring various competitive strategies,

such as new product launches, major innovations, competitive offering
models, product line expansion, aggressive advertising campaigns, and
litigation.
There is a difference between these two brands because they use multiple
technologies to effectively reach audiences in the market.

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Apple is in a leadership position in innovation and Samsung is its strong

competitor.
Samsung uses a reminder strategy by lowering prices to make customers
more affordable.
Therefore, to maintain its current position and become a recognized leader,
both brands need to develop effective marketing strategies.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Apple (India)
Apple Inc.’s Mission Statement and Vision Statement (An Analysis) - Panmure Institute
13 new innovative technologies and features unveiled at WWDC20 - Apple (IN)
Apple One - Apple (IN)
Apple Statistics (2021) - Business of Apps
Apple Podcasts Subscriptions and channels are now available worldwide - Apple
(IN)
• Apple: brand value 2020 | Statista
At $2.08 Trillion, Apple Is Bigger Than These Things (investopedia.com)
Apple_Environmental_Progress_Report_2021.pdf
Apple's Wearable Tech Is About to Get Much More Personal--With a Pair of
Augmented Reality Glasses | Inc.com
How Apple uses AI and Big Data | Analytics Steps
Apple and Hyundai-Kia pushing toward a company has deal on Apple Car
(cnbc.com)
Apple to pay up to $500 million to settle U.S. lawsuit over slow iPhones | Reuters
Apple’s COVID-19 Response - Apple
Business - Apple (IN)
CONCLUSION
How Apple does M&A: Small and quiet, with no bankers (cnbc.com)
How Apple Is Organized for Innovation (hbr.org)
Apple to pay up to $500 million to settle U.S. lawsuit over slow iPhones | Reuters
Samsung Electronics - statistics & facts | Statista
Samsung's R&D spending rises again in Q3; jobs at record high | Business Standard News
(business-standard.com)
Samsung Electronics: research & development expenditure 2020 | Statista
Samsung Electronics Wins 71 iF Design Awards (Samsung) | CompanyNewsHQ
Environment | Sustainability | Samsung Levant
Sustainability_report_2020_en_F.pdf (samsung.com)
Samsung leads Xiaomi in Q2 2018: Know how Samsung regained market leadership |
Business Standard News (business-standard.com)

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2020_Half_Year_Report.pdf (samsung.com)
Samsung One UI 3 Takes User Experience to New Heights with Android 11 - Samsung US
Newsroom
Samsung Display starts production of smartphone display panels in India: Report -
Gizmochina
Samsung A20e explodes — How to put out a smartphone fire (komando.com)
Jury Awards Apple $539 Million in Samsung Patent Case - The New York Times
(nytimes.com)
Smartphone industry sees drastic decline in Q2 2020 - GSMArena.com news

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