Piper Jaffray’s analyst, Gene Munster, offers a unique outlook on Apple’s choice not to offer a dedicated YouTube app for its iOS operating system. Tiernan Ray reports that Munster writes that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) have entered what he calls the “third phase” of the smartphone wars.
Munster indicates that he feels Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock is overweight, with a $910 price target, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is primarily focusing on developing partnerships. On the other hand, Google is creating its own offerings in standalone apps provided to its Android OS, which is used by Samsung, among other smartphone and tablet providers.
Munster indicates that he feels the advantage to be in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s favor, and predicts that their share in the smartphone world will increase from 20% this year to a figure close to 32% within the next three years. He also believes that Android’s share in the market will drop from 58% to 53% in the same time period.
Munster bases this belief on the argument that the first phase was all about the features of the phone itself, along with the operating system having unique features. Apple was leading in this phase, until Google released its Jelly Bean version of Android last month.
The second phase was all about the apps offered on each OS. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) carried the market for a while, but now Google’s Playstore has relatively closed that gap. Now it is a neck and neck race to see who will claim the top spot.
Munster describes phase three as being all about the fact that Apple has partnered with providers to offer a better selection, while Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) continues to offer their own services. Apple has partnered with groups like Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Fandango, Open Table, and others, and has successfully woven them into the fabric of iOS and Siri. While Google’s strongest offerings such as, search, maps, and Google Now, well integrated into their system, they must rely on Zagat, Google +, Gmail, and GTalk to compete with iOS partners in the social networking end of the field.
It will be interesting indeed, to watch these two giants battle it out for the lion’s share of the smartphone world.
