After a weak Q2 profit, Samsung just keeps getting hit with bad news. In May of this year, Samsung's flagship Galaxy S 5 sold about 5 million phones, which isn't a terrible number. However, Apple's iPhone 5S managed to sell 7 million, and it's a device that's been on shelves for almost a year. The Galaxy S 4 managed to move about 7 million per month when it launched last year, for reference. Samsung reported that losing market share in the low end was what really hurt their profits, but it looks like they're struggling to keep up in the high end, too.
For the most part, it seems like the Galaxy S 5 was received better than last year's S 4, thanks to a trimmed down TouchWiz interface, water resistant capabilities, and a fantastic camera. However, many people were expecting some more drastic changes, like a 2k screen or anything besides a plastic body. While missing those two key points definitely could be a contributing factor to weak sales, Samsung is also competing against many other manufacturers that are making devices just as good as the Galaxy S 5, but selling them quite a bit cheaper.
Samsung's answer to this could be their upcoming Galaxy Alpha device, which we're expecting to see launch alongside Apple's iPhone 6. Plus, Samsung still has the Galaxy Note line, which still manages to sell fairly consistently and command a higher price than the Galaxy S line.
Analysts point out that Samsung's massive Galaxy brand might also be part of the problem with sales on the high end, however. While Apple's iPhone is almost exclusively associated with premium, expensive smartphones, Samsung has released Galaxy phones in every price and form factor under the sun. The cheap, $80 prepaid device shares the same brand as the $800 high-end device, and to some consumers, that can cheapen the overall brand. While it would be extremely difficult for Samsung to just toss aside a brand that they've spent so much time and money into building up, they may eventually have to take that route in the future to build up their high-end profit margins again.
source: Reuters
What I’d like to see are the numbers of HTC One M7/M8, LG G2/G3 and Moto X. The last is not exactly high end. There is also Sony’s Experia line and the Nexus 5. But I don’t think they make much of a dent. But I bet the sales of the HTC and LG more than make up the difference. Unlike the S3, which was simply much better than every other Android phone at the time, that’s not been the case with the S4 or the S5. In fact on many fronts, it’s actually worse. So I don’t think this is as much an issue with the iPhone as with the fact that the other Android manufacturers are just making better phones and it’s thanks to the Samsung Galaxy brand and the immense marketing money they can throw that’s got them still maintaining the 5 million per month sale.
Sheep. Need I say more?