Apple

Apple edges out Samsung in American Customer Satisfaction Index

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

Apple has managed to edge out Samsung in this year's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), the nation's cross-industry measure of customer satisfaction. The Cupertino firm has beaten the Galaxy maker by just one percentage point when it comes to smartphone customer satisfaction.

The report, which released Wednesday, reveals that in 2016 Apple scored 81 out of 100 while Samsung stayed where it was the year before at 80.

A year before, both firms scored 80 out of 100 for customer satisfaction.

Samsung’s VR smartphone screen could let you enjoy 3D without any special glasses

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2016

Virtual reality is a new tech buzzword and key players are taking notice, with Samsung Display showing off a cutting-edge smartphone display technology at the Display Week conference in San Francisco last week. The tech promises to let people enjoy 3D content without needing any special glasses.

Eric Schmidt trolls Apple users (again): Galaxy S7 has better battery and camera than iPhone 6s

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 25, 2016

It's an established fact that Alphabet Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt owns an iPhone because, you know, it pays to experience what the competition is doing firsthand. In a fireside chat at the Startup Fest Europe in Amsterdam, Netherlands, today with CNBC journalist Julia Chatterley, he publicly admitted for the first time to using both an iPhone 6s and Galaxy S7, teasing the mostly iPhone-totting audience that Samsung's device is better.

Samsung to re-enter Apple’s supply chain for NAND flash memory chips in 2017

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 20, 2016

Following a five-year hiatus, Apple's frenemy Samsung is set to supply NAND flash memory chips to Apple for its devices beginning with 2017, ETNews reported Wednesday. NAND flash memory is extensively used across Apple's many products, including the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch and Mac notebooks.

Apple dropped Samsung as a NAND flash supplier following the iPhone 5 introduction in 2012 because the South Korean conglomerate was stuck with ball grid array (BGA) packaging and refused to invest in land grid array (LGA) package contacts that allow the flash memory chips to sit flush with the printed circuit board and were required to comply with Apple's electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding requirements.

Apple’s allegedly brokered $2.6 billion deal with Samsung to supply OLED panels for iPhones

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 15, 2016

Apple has reportedly brokered a deal with its South Korean frenemy Samsung, worth an estimated $2.59 billion, to supply OLED panels for future iPhones, scheduled to ship in 2017. Citing sources familiar with Samsung's plans, The Korea Herald reported Friday that Samsung's mobile display making arm, Samsung Display, will manufacture about hundred million OLED panels annually, measuring 5.5 inches diagonally, starting next year.

Samsung expects 10 percent profit growth on better-than-expected Galaxy S7 sales

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 7, 2016

According to preliminary results posted Thursday, there's a light at the end of a long tunnel for Samsung Electronics and that light is the new Galaxy S7 flagship smartphone. After more than two straight years of decline in its mobile division, the South Korean firm is now projecting more than ten percent profit growth for the first quarter of 2016, beating market estimates.

The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge were announced back in February ahead of their March 11 debut. Both phones, which have managed to address some of user complaints like memory expandability, were met with mostly positive reviews. Thus far, the new devices have moved three times as many units in their first month compared to their predecessor, the Galaxy S6/edge series, according to Bloomberg.

Samsung and others want to stop Apple from selling refurbished iPhones in India

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 4, 2016

A month after Apple sought permission from the Indian government to sell used iPhones in the country, the move has ignited backlash from competitors like Samsung and local phone vendors who are now opposing Apple's move on environmental grounds, reports Bloomberg.

The newly formed Mobile and Communications Council has issued the letter to the government vehemently opposing Apple’s application. That group’s members include the largest Indian phone brands: Micromax, Intex and Samsung.

How to recycle your old tech with Apple’s Recycling Program

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated August 6, 2018

If you have old tech sitting in your closet or attic that you don't use anymore because you've got something better, Apple will gladly make sure that tech is recycled properly free of cost via the Apple Recycling Program. In some instances, the company will even give you an Apple Store gift card as credit towards a new Apple device or accessories.

The Apple Recycling Program has been around for ages, but is often overlooked as an option. Although better deals can often be had elsewhere, the urge to trade in your device can come at inopportune times, and when you want quick money for your old Apple devices, or a quick and easy way to get rid of your junk tech, Apple can come in handy in a pinch.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how you can use the Apple Recycling Program to make better use of your unused tech.

My 5 favorite accessories to use with my MacBook Pro

Anthony Bouchard ∙ March 8, 2016

Whenever I'm using my MacBook Pro, there are a number of third-party accessories I like to use to glorify my user experience based on what I may be using it for. In this piece, I'll share with you my five favorite accessories that I use with my 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display regularly.

Samsung’s celebrity-studded Galaxy S7 ad is smart and subtle with anti-Apple digs

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 29, 2016

Samsung's Galaxy advertising campaigns typically are not the subtlest of digs at Apple, but the new star-studded commercial for the latest Galaxy S7 smartphones is different.

Featuring actors William Macy and Wesley Snipes, hip-hop artist Lil Wayne and other celebrities, the commercial focuses on the features that differentiate the Galaxy S7 from the iPhone 6s.

The highlighted features that the ad poses as the Galaxy S7's competitive advantage over Apple's smartphone include waterproofing, two times better lowlight performance, a longer-lasting battery, support for Samsung's virtual reality headset, Samsung's mobile payment system that works anywhere credit cards are accepted, the phone's expandable memory and more.

Apple’s $120 million patent victory against Samsung overturned

Cody Lee ∙ February 26, 2016

An appeals court on Friday ruled that Samsung won’t have to pay Apple $119.6 million for infringing its patents, reports Bloomberg. The court found two of Apple's patents, including one for its slide-to-unlock feature, to be invalid and a third wasn’t infringed.

Today's ruling overturns a verdict reached by a California jury in May 2014, which found Samsung devices to infringe on Apple's patents. It also upholds a decision to make Apple pay Samsung $158,400 in damages for infringing on its video compression patent.

Xiaomi’s new phone has beastly specs for half the price of iPhone 6s or Galaxy S7

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Chinese handset maker Xiaomi at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, today announced its latest Mi 5 smartphone, billed as a super flagship device due to some beastly specs.

The new Xiaomi Mi 5 basically packs in as much hardware as Apple's iPhone 6s and Samsung's newly announced Galaxy S7, for half the price, with industrial design that looks like a cross between the iPhone 6s and Galaxy S7.

The maxed-out spec sheet includes things like the latest Qualcomm chip with four gigabytes of RAM, a sixteen-megapixel camera from Sony with sapphire lens protection, a full HD IPS LCD edge-to-edge screen, a fingerprint sensor integrated into the Home button, 128GB of on-board storage with support for micro SD cards and more.