Analysts Reactions to How Galaxy S4 Will Affect Apple
Now that things have died down a bit, in-case you haven’t already heard, Samsung officially unveiled its new flagship Glaxy S4 smartphone last night with their ‘theatrical broadway-style’ presentation in New York.
Today, analysts are quick to jump in with their opinions of what this means for apple. Closing at $443.63 today, there stock doesn’t appear to have taken much of a hit. Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray’s is one who is not the least bit immpressed with the S4 upgrade, but did note Samsung’s new ‘S Band’ as being “a quick first pass for Samsung on wearable technology ahead of Apple’s watch”. Also adding that he expects Apple to launch a Smart Watch (iWatch) by 2014,
“The Galaxy S4 appears to be largely an incremental update to the S3 including a slightly larger screen (4% larger on diagonal), better camera and processor, and updated software, but largely the same body style and casing. We believe some of the software features are unique, including the tilt to scroll, video pausing based on facial recognition, and hand gesture based interactions, but view these software improvements as minor compared with what Siri was to the iPhone 4S or even Google Now to Android.”
Peter Misek (Jefferies Analyst) thought the S4 will be ‘incrementally negative for Apple’ but doesn’t view the S4 upgrades as ‘evolutionary’,
“We believe the S4 will certainly sell well and it is incrementally negative for Apple; however, the device is not revolutionary, in our view. Aside from the large screen size, which we believe gives Samsung a large advantage over Apple, we believe many of the features can easily be replicated. Additionally, a major complaint amongst Galaxy users is that they do not like Samsung’s customized software, especially when it is a downgrade in performance from stock Android features. We wait to see the real world performance for the many new features. Misek did wonder if an iPhone 5S or iPhone 6 would be enough to hold Apple’s fort against the phablet craze.”
Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities today stated that recent supplier checks indicate Apple would launch its rumored low-cost iPhone with the same 4-inch display as the iPhone 5. Also adding, the device will be made out of a “super-thin plastic casing mixed with glass fiber” and come in 4-6 colors.
Yesterday Walter Piecyk (with BTIG) claimed, ‘a new low-cost iPhone is necessary in order for Apple to grow its EPS next year’
“We believe a product that addresses the more than 70 percent of global wireless subscribers that are unsubsidized pre-paid is necessary in order for Apple to grow its EPS next year,”
Also,
“This is not rocket science and our belief is based on basic logic, not questionable ‘channel checks’ or trips to Asia.”
So there you have it.
On a personal note, having been a previous Samsung Galaxy owner – and knowing several people who have as well, unless Samsung has made some major developments in the hardware realm yet-alone stock software, I don’t see this as much to worry about for Apple. In 6 months time, the customers who purchase their new Galaxy 4S’s will see what I mean.
Kevin is an Online and Mobile Marketing Strategist who has worked with companies of all sizes over the last 6 years. You can follow Kevin on any of the social platforms below.
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