Smartphone trends are hurting Apple, Samsung

The real problem for Apple and Samsung is that consumers couldn’t care less about the technology inside their smartphones. Sure, they want a big screen and a great camera, but those are staples of phones from half a dozen manufacturers. The specifics of things like processors and operating systems, which formed the basis of competition during the heyday of the PC era, are lost on people who consider phones part of the daily kit that includes their wallet and car keys.

Smartphone makers know this, but they’re hard put to come up with other factors to distinguish their models from the rest of a crowded field.