Rivals have been scrambling to fill the void left by the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 after its abrupt demise. Now, it appears that Apple is faring better in the melee after a recent survey claimed that the iPhone 7 is in the position to snag the bulk of the bereft Note 7 owners.

In the survey conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC), which was primarily designed to gauge the impact of the Note 7 recall, it was found that around half of Galaxy Note 7 have bought or will buy the iPhone 7 after the snafu. That figure, at first glance, should already ring the alarm not just for Samsung but also for Google. This is because it shows a potential exodus not just from Note 7 to iPhone 7 but also from Android to iOS.

Fortunately, the survey's findings regarding the iPhone 7 shift is spotty at best. After poring over the details of the study, which was promptly released by way of a press release dated Oct. 28, one will find that out of the 1,082 U.S. consumers listed as survey respondents, only 24 were actual Note 7 owners. The bulk of the participants were existing non-Note 7 Samsung owners (507) and smartphone owners who never owned a Samsung device before (228).

So it is hard to give credence to a finding that says 50 percent of Note 7 owners chose to buy iPhone 7 after the recall when that percentage only involved a dozen affected Note 7 users. This criticism has been echoed in the tech community. The population is simply too small to be representative of the Note 7 owners, which should be hitting the 2.5 million mark based on the actual Note 7 sales.

For those interested what the other 50 percent said when asked how they replaced their Note 7, IDC only accounted for the 17 percent who said they chose another Samsung device.

What is more interesting in the IDC report, however, is the fact that most Samsung users have not been affected by the Note 7 fiasco. The study found that majority of the respondents claim it has not affected their view about the Samsung brand or their potential purchase decisions involving Samsung products in the future.

Consumers were also largely satisfied with the way Samsung handled the Note 7 crisis. That should reward the South Korean company, which has gone to great lengths just to ensure that its customers stay loyal to the brand. It is helpful to remember that during the peak of Note 7 controversy, some owners stubbornly held on to their Note 7.

"Although the recall may have an adverse impact on the brand in the short term, the truth is that Samsung remains the clear market leader in the worldwide smartphone market," Anthony Scarsella, research manager at IDC, said.