Samsung and Apple have traded places, and the Chinese are next in line

How do you know if a company like Apple has lost its way? How do you decide whether an uninspiring event or a dip in sales is just a temporary blunder — a part of the eternal ebb and flow of the tech world — or an indication of a serious issue?

Well, it helps when there’s a strong competitor to compare with. And now that the dust has settled on both the first big Apple and Samsung events of 2016, Samsung looks like a leader for the first time, with Apple grasping for all sorts of straws to keep up

Let’s face it: Despite being ahead in the total number of smartphones sold worldwide, Samsung was always a distant number two to Apple. Tedious discussions of Apple vs. everyone else aside, most folks following the smartphone industry agree that Apple’s phones were always a little better, a little more polished than the competition, despite often being behind in terms of pure specifications Read more...