Wall Street analyst: Apple has Samsung on the ropes like never before

The battle of being the biggest player on the mobile market is a two-horse race: Samsung and Apple have been trying to outdo each other for years, but over the last several months, it seems that the balance of power has shifted quite noticeably in favor of the latter.

In a research note distributed on Thursday, Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White states that "Apple has Samsung on the ropes like never before in recent memory". If we take all the recent facts and events under consideration, White's claim does seem logical.

The Galaxy Note 7 disaster and the arrest of Samsung's heir apparent Jay Y. Lee have dealt a huge blow to the company's reputation. Although strong demand for displays and memory chips ensured good profits for Q4 2016, the South Korean manufacturer had to postpone the unveiling of its upcoming Galaxy S8 flagship in order to ensure that there won't be any safety issues.

Meanwhile, Apple managed to sell a record 78.3 million handsets during the same period, which signalizes that the company is very much on the rise. Cupertino is also the current leader in Fortune’s top 50 most admired companies, while Samsung didn't even make the cut. Brian White adds that speculations around the upcoming iPhone 8 have managed to spur great interest from consumers, which is a definite boost to Apple's stock value.

via Redmond Pie