Sales of the Galaxy S III rose following the unveiling of the iPhone 5

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57541312-94/samsung-feels-the-power-as-galaxy-note-2-lifts-off/?ttag=fbwp

by neya • 14 years ago

65 57 14 years ago

news.cnet.com

mdasen2• 14 years ago

That makes sense. If you were thinking about getting a GS3 in late September, you might as well wait to see what Apple was coming out with. If it were known that Samsung would be introducing a new flagship phone 2 weeks after the iPhone, I think a lot of people would have waited to make their decision. Then once they saw both, they would pull the trigger to buy the one they wanted.

I bought an iPhone 5, but was definitely interested in the Lumia 920 announcement. If it was going to be announced a week after the iPhone, I certainly would have waited to see what it was. It makes sense that people would delay their purchase decision for a few weeks if they know a competitor is just about to announce something - if for no other reason than to confirm that the original device actually is the one they wanted.

Steko3• 14 years ago

"Then once they saw both, they would pull the trigger to buy the one they wanted."

What's far more common would be more or less uninformed people walked in to buy an iphone 5, and were told it was out of stock for weeks and the salesman (who gets a significantly better commission on Samsung phones) tries his best to sell them the GS3 and sometimes does. I know this is a common story because I've actually seen the exact scenario play out several times in the course of an hour I spent with my wife in the Sprint store activating her phone.

CWIZO• 14 years ago

You and mdasen both have a valid theory. Unfortunately it's just that, a theory.

ernestipark• 14 years ago

This is exactly what I'm doing. I've had iPhones for 4 years, but have been underwhelmed by the innovation in iOS. After iOS6 and iPhone 5 didn't present much of anything new, I've decided to go with the S3 or Note II.

ceworthington2• 14 years ago

Supply chain issues really hurt in a market as competitive as smartphones. I wonder how many sales Apple loses per day because they can't keep the product in stock?

Buying an iPhone 5 involves either lots of waiting, or hard work to track one down.

drivebyacct22• 14 years ago

People will just buy a different smartphone if they're out of stock? Let alone if it's the iPhone they want? I don't believe it.

lucisferre• 14 years ago

It's a large market, I'm not really sure how you can be surprised by significant market segments that don't actually care all that much wich web-enabled phone they get when their contract is up. Not everyone make purchase decisions like a geek.

aerique• 14 years ago

The iPhone might be their first choice but we're not talking about people here that camp out in front of an Apple store to get their smartphone.

jivatmanx• 14 years ago

Most people buy a new phone when they're getting a new plan or renewing their old one, and don't want to delay that process for weeks.

As for "Let alone if it's the iPhone that they want" Apple is the most recognizable brand and thus a higher portion of it's users are likely to be uninformed and persuadable.

S_A_P• 14 years ago

I have had great difficulty getting an iPhone 5. This has been compounded by the fact that AT&T have screwed up my iPhone order twice.

I am thinking of getting a galaxy because of the nonsense. The main reasoning for not doing so is the loss of my apps. 4 years of app purchases are effectively going to be wasted.

ceworthington2• 14 years ago

If they get to the point of going into a store, you can bet that the store employees will do everything they can to sell them a different phone that is in stock today, that they can earn a commission on now.

The same would be true if iPhones were abundant and the Galaxy was out of stock, though Apple will always be at a disadvantage because there is only one "current" iPhone while there are any number of "new" Android phones the sales guy/gal could choose to push.

UnoriginalGuy• 14 years ago

I don't think Samsung's advertising hurt either. Many of which directly targeted (made fun of?) Apple users.

Stuff like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf5-Prx19ZM

They've been showing that non-stop in the states.

aes2562• 14 years ago

That's actually a pretty neat ad.

So far the only ad I've seen for the SIII in the UK is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsP-S2nETCc

With selling points such as "it understands you", "keeps track of loved ones", "recognises who you are", "follows your every move", "waits till you're asleep", it sounds like a commercial for a bloody serial killer.

CountSessine• 14 years ago

I watched the ad you posted. It's bland.

It's too bad that they didn't have something edgier, especially with those quotes you mentioned. Maybe even something a bit more like this, from a few years ago?

http://crystaltips.typepad.com/wonderland/2006/02/new_psp_ad...

emehrkay• 14 years ago

Geeze, they're even copying Apple's "make fun of the market you want" advertising.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYP1Tjgt1Ao

Just joking. The Samsung ads are kinda funny

jlgreco• 14 years ago

I am particularly fond of the samsung ad that has the line (in response to somebody claiming they need an iphone because they are creative) "Dude, you're a barista".

It's not very nice, but it definitely got a good belly laugh out of me.

taligent• 14 years ago

Here in Australia Samsung has noticeably increased the advertising for the Galaxy S3 in response to the iPhone 5.

That seems like a much bigger reason for their increase in sales than anything else.

jemeshsu• 14 years ago

Here in Singapore, you don't see any iPhone 5 ads. But Samsung ads together with the three local telcos are everywhere. iPhone 5 sells itself as it is hot seller here. No doubt Samsung might sell more due to the ads and more models at lower costs.

lrm• 14 years ago

I think the main reason is that the GS3 is mentioned in so many articles about the iPhone 5.

acabal• 14 years ago

For a second I thought this was an Onion article:

> 'I was shocked by the numbers,' Kevin Packingham, chief product officer of Samsung's U.S. mobile arm, said. 'What the heck is going on here?'

> the company on Wednesday threw a splashy party for media, d-list celebrities, and select Samsung fans...

> Winning 'Phablet' fans

Alright, nice that Samsung is doing well, but come on--this article makes it sound like Samsung is a joke!

KaoruAoiShiho2• 14 years ago

I agree the one of the article is messed up. The embeded video review of the note 2 is also equally terrible. Every positive attribute of that device is stated in a passive aggressive manner. This is what happens though when your brand doesn't have a coherent message. "Designed for humans" is a joke.

septerr• 14 years ago

I felt similarly. And that first statement by Kevin Packingham made me gag. Yea, he works for Samsung and made a statement saying he was shocked to see uptick in their sales after iPhone5 release. Plus the article is fileld with too many statements from the company or description of the party.Analysis, comparison, user survey...stuff like that would have been more relevant.

robryan2• 14 years ago

I got the impression that a lot of people decided to go with the s3 after iPhone 5 launch didn't give them anything truly compelling.

As others have said, the average smartphone buyer is quite fickle, so just as easily as Apple can win them they can loose them, even if in effect the person will use the iPhone and s3 the do essentially the same things.

gregpilling• 14 years ago

That was my thinking. I was underwhelmed with the iphone5, and I am now considering the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. But I am in my early 40's and I find the iPhone display too small. I also do a lot of napkin sketching, so the stylus feature is a plus for me - not a negative.

But then I am old enough that I learned how to use the original palm. Had a color Handspring for a while with a folding keyboard that I used for notes in business meeting. The more things change, the more things stay the same.

I also loved the promise of Siri but find the execution wothless at least 50% or the time. The android dictation seems to work better. Last but not least, I hated the old version of iPhone maps and he new version seems to be worse.

YMMV

marknutter• 14 years ago

Sure, but what's "truly compelling" about the S3?

vidarh• 14 years ago

Compared to the iPhone? Bigger screen. Android.

It'd take something exceptional for me to consider an iPhone for those two reasons alone.

But I'm sure there's enough users who usually fall down on either side that are reasonably undecided enough that they might wait to see whether the "other camp" has something exceptional to offer before making their purchase decision when there's a new big launch around the corner.

KaoruAoiShiho2• 14 years ago

Massive storage, massive battery life, massive screen. Freedom.

robryan2• 14 years ago

I think it compares favourably on a side for side feature comparison, plus I think it might be cheaper?

I get the impression for acquaintances that there was a lot of people who don't exactly agree with Apples opinionated design but got a iPhone 4 because it was the best thing on the market at the time. Now that there are viable alternatives they are happy to switch.

pzaich• 14 years ago

I recently switched over to the SIII from the iPhone 4. Honestly, I'm not that impressed. Physically the device is great; I like the size of the screen and the finish is decent, but the screen sensitivity is sorely lacking compared to my 2 year old iPhone. I find myself having to use the back button all the time after clicking on the wrong links or wrong app icons. I don't remember ever having this problem on the iPhone. The battery life is also inferior, probably due to the screen-size and I don't want to have to lug around another battery every day.

I haven't tried the iPhone 5 yet as it hasn't been launched in Korea yet, but I seriously doubt that the iPhone 5 is an inferior product to the S III. There are some nice customizations you can do with Android phones, but if you want a phone that just "works", go with an iPhone.

esolyt• 14 years ago

I have never heard of an issue with screen sensitivity on Galaxy S3 from anyone before.

BenoitEssiambre• 14 years ago

I've seen this a lot. It's not an issue of sensitivity. It's about getting used to specific screen calibrations. With the uncertainty brought by big fingers and glass thickness that vary, the exact spot where a device locates your touch isn't calculated exactly the same way.

You'll get used to the SIII and when you use a friend's iPhone, it will feel inaccurate and you will miss-touch all the links. I know I do when I use my wife's iPhone 5. It's worst when going from a SIII to an iPhone than the other way around because of the iPhone's small screen.

SoapSeller• 14 years ago

Also, The 199$ Kindle Fire had the biggest sales day(since the launch) after the iPad Mini unveiled: http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/27/3563380/amazon-kindle-fir...

suchire• 14 years ago

More than likely it is difficult to disentangle the fact that Samsung made an incredibly heavy marketing push for the GS3 right around the time that the iPhone 5 launched, so there are no statistics that will tell you whether it's because of the iPhone 5 launch that sales rose or because of the marketing timing.

salimmadjd• 14 years ago

"The spike after the iPhone 5 launch suggests that consumers hung around to see what Apple had to show off, weren't impressed, and went with a Galaxy S III instead."

I don't know how they can make this conclusion. It could be that iPhone5 was sold out and since they were already at the store they bought another phone that could give them similar options. The difference is it has less to do by being impressed and more to do with iPhone actually brought customers to stores and helped sell the Galaxy.

paul_f• 14 years ago

Maybe people simply prefer the GS3 to the iPhone 5? Could it be that simple? Yes, it is that simple.

nextstep• 14 years ago

This is lame speculation over a small uptick. This does not deserve to be on the front page of HN.

JuDue• 14 years ago

There was a similar post about Kindle.

It should be expected.

People wait to see what is available.

Of course there will be a flood of Amazon/Apple/Android sales.

This does not tell us which one got the most sales.

Regardless, Apple may of got the bigger profit.

Sales of the Galaxy S III rose following the unveiling of the iPhone 5

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