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America’s smartphone market is stuck.

More than 70 percent of the smartphones Americans bought this year were either an iPhone or a Samsung device. According to data compiled for me by research firm IDC, smartphone brands other than these two make fewer sales each year.

A mix of Coca-Cola and Pepsi smartphones dominates in many other countries as well, but analysts told me the US is a bit odd given the lack of a relatively strong third or fourth competitor.

It’s a basic idea that it’s good to have more options in America. In principle, we get better products or services for less money when more than one powerful automaker or market fights for our business.

So why do we only have two popular smartphone brands in the US? Samsung and Apple make great phones, but so do other companies. Some sell pretty well too – not just in the US

Yes, many product categories tend to be dominated by two or three large companies. Until recently, most Americans bought razors or mattresses from a small number of dominant companies. Then it starts like dollar shaving club and mattress companies in a box Like Casper helping to stir up trouble.

I’m going to talk about the features of smartphones in the US, the pros and cons of how it works here, and whether there will be a smartphone Dollar Shave Club.

The American smartphone market is strange.

Globally, about 80 percent of smartphones are powered by Google’s Android operating system, and Apple sells almost all of the rest. But the US became more like a 50-50 split. Samsung is by far the best seller of Android phones.

Many other countries where most people own smartphones, including the UK and South Korea, are also dominated by Apple and Samsung. But elsewhere, smartphone shopping tends to have more choice and competition, usually from Chinese brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, Realme.until recently)

Why is the USA like this?

It’s complicated, but I’ll offer two explanations: America’s wireless providers like AT&T are the top winners of phones in the US, and they don’t have a problem with the status quo. Second, smartphone vendors other than Apple and Samsung don’t put in a lot of effort because they know that sometimes it’s hard to be successful in the US.

Wireless carriers sell about three-quarters of the phones Americans buy and have a good relationship with Apple and Samsung.

Payphone service providers Apple and Samsung charge large sums to advertise their new devices. Sometimes they offer a commission for the salesperson at a Verizon store to push their models to shoppers. Phone companies also require extensive testing of new phones and US-specific technical requirements.

This is not necessarily treacherous or unusual. But this system supports established smartphone manufacturers who can afford the costs and tricks of teaming up with wireless providers. It’s also a risk to buy a smartphone from a brand we’re not familiar with, and many Americans who buy a new device stick with the one they’re used to.

Some potential smartphone challengers are pretty meh, too. A solid number 3 in the US, LG has recently gave up on smartphones. Chinese smartphone brands are having an extra hard time in the US from time to time. government sanctions and Fears of US officials He said their phones could be gateways to Chinese espionage.

Google (maybe) starts show more interest in hawking his five year old Pixel smartphone series with wireless carriers and the company has slashed prices to much less than comparable iPhones. (Did you know that Google makes smartphones? Yes, absolutely.)

Is it good or bad for Americans to have two dominant smartphone manufacturers?

Yeah.

Two strong options can be plenty. Samsung and Apple make good phones with a variety of features and prices. Americans also benefit A customer battle between US phone companies, high discounts dangling on expensive devices. (However, mobile service prices are higher in the US than in most other rich countries.)

What I’m wondering is what new ideas are out of luck as the US smartphone market is frozen. Dollar Shave Club didn’t necessarily make better shavers than Gillette, but it did make them much more enjoyable and cheaper to buy. Casper and his colleagues allowed people to bypass mattress stores and massively popularized foam mattresses.

What is the equivalent that we might be missing in smartphones?

Before you go …

• Google wants to work with the Pentagon again: Three years after employee protests prevented Google from selling technology to the US military, the company Pursuing the Pentagon’s multibillion-dollar cloud computing contract, my colleagues Dai Wakabayashi and Kate Conger are reporting.

• The online information war in Myanmar: Reuters Writer About the military in Myanmar, using social media to monitor soldiers to prevent asylum, spread false allegations of election fraud, and denounce citizens who oppose military rule.

• Google Street View are memories: A writer at The Observer explores the ways Google’s Street View feature gives us. a unique look at places and loved ones from our past. “At Street View, we take a panoptic view of the world and all the mysteries, nonsense and nonsense that are part of everyday life,” writes Şirin Kale.

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I know Halloween was days ago, but I love videos of animals eating pumpkins. Here are some young squirrels digging pumpkin entrails.

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