Skip to main content

Apple could gain 5-7 million users due to Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, analyst says

apple overtakes samsung store
Adrianhancu/123RF
While Samsung may be going through one of the worst public relations disasters its mobile division has had, Apple will most likely cash in over the situation — big time. Samsung has cancelled all production of the Galaxy Note 7, essentially meaning customers either have to choose another Samsung phone, or get a refund and get their phone from another manufacturer.

According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, that manufacturer will be Apple for as many as 5 million to 7 million people. The report suggests that millions of people will flock to the iPhone 7 Plus because of the dual camera, which makes the Plus an attractive buy for many people that might have bought the Note 7 for its camera in the first place.

Recommended Videos

What the report means is that as many as 50 percent of Galaxy Note 7 buyers could be convinced to switch over to an iPhone — originally as many as 12 million Galaxy Note 7s were sold. The other 50 percent of buyers will be shared among manufacturers like Huawei and Google, which is selling its first ever self-built device.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Of course, it is difficult to tell exactly how buyers of the Galaxy Note 7 will react to the situation. Many users have declined to turn in their device despite that it could catch fire without warning. While Kuo says that that the issue will not affect Samsung for more than a few months, the report notes that another series of similar issues could be disastrous to the Samsung brand as a top-tier phone manufacturer.

Apple stock has soared over the past few weeks — largely due to the Galaxy Note 7 issues. Apple will likely see an excellent fourth quarter of 2016 and even first quarter of 2017. We may begin to see the effects of the Galaxy Note 7 issues on Apple when Apple reports its earnings to investors on October 25.

Christian de Looper
Christian de Looper is a long-time freelance writer who has covered every facet of the consumer tech and electric vehicle…
The good and bad of Apple Intelligence after using it on my iPhone for months
Apple Intelligence on iPhone 15 Pro.

Whether you love or hate it, AI doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. In fact, AI is evolving quite rapidly, and it’s now in the palms of our hands with our smartphones, as Google, Samsung, and even Apple have now fully embraced our AI future.

Though Apple was late to the game with Apple Intelligence, the company majorly hyped it up for the iPhone 16 launch in September, even though, amazingly, it did not roll out until October with the iOS 18.1 update. The staggered release schedule for Apple Intelligence confused many consumers as to why they did not have Apple Intelligence immediately with their iPhone 16 purchases, and it felt like a big misstep from Apple.

Read more
Things still aren’t looking good for Apple’s iOS 19 update
iPhone 16 Pro Max in Desert Titanium.

The latest version of iOS 18.2 rolled out to (most) iPhone users yesterday, and it brought with it a slew of new features that fans have eagerly waited for. These include Visual Intelligence for iPhone 16, Genmoji, and Image Playground. However, this slower rollout of iOS 18 features is having an impact on development times for its next iteration, and that means iOS 19 might be delayed.

There have been whispers of delays before, so this doesn't come as a huge surprise — particularly when you think about how the production flow at Apple usually goes. In a Threads post, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said: "I continue to hear that the gradual rollout of features across iOS 18 to iOS 18.4 is leading to delays of some features scheduled for iOS 19. That will lead to a long-term rollout of features next cycle as well. Engineers are stuck working on iOS 18 projects when they’d usually already be on to the following OS."

Read more
The iOS 18.2 update includes a special feature just for iPhone 16 Pro users
A person holding the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max.

If you have an iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max, updated to iOS 18.2, and regularly use the Voice Memos app, then your phone just got even better if you're a musician. Originally teased in September’s iPhone 16 event, Layered Recordings is now available in the Voice Memos app with the iOS 18.2 update.

What exactly are Layered Recordings? Basically, you can now add a vocal track layer on top of any existing instrumental recording without the need for headphones. In the iOS 18.2 update, users are now able to play original instrument ideas through the iPhone’s built-in speakers while simultaneously recording vocals with the studio-quality microphone on the iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max.

Read more