Samsung and Apple are two of the biggest companies in the world. Despite pulling in huge profits on massive revenues, both companies have seen their stock prices fall in the past year. Some analysts have argued that the high-end smartphone market may have peaked, claiming that Apple and Samsung must develop new technologies to entice consumers to buy their products. Apple is rumored to be developing a smartwatch, and Samsung has even confirmed a similar device will be heading to the market in the future. There is one problem, however — the smartphone market hasn’t peaked.
Samsung has shipped more than 20 million Galaxy S4 handsets in roughly two months, making the company’s latest smartphone the fastest-selling Android device of all time. Meanwhile, the iPhone 5 sold more than 5 million units in its opening weekend, and Apple has gone on to sell more than 80 million iPhones in the past year alone.
As quickly as phones are selling right now though, the smartphone market likely has not yet peaked. But Forbes contributor Haydn Shaughnessy argues that Samsung might have. He notes that while Samsung has the ability to reduce costs and increase profits thanks to its production line, the company isn’t innovating like Apple is. Shaughnessy claims that if Samsung doesn’t “acquire new competencies,” 2013 could mark the beginning of a reversal of fortunes for the world’s largest smartphone vendor.
Despite Shaughnessy’s belief that Samsung isn’t innovating, recent reports suggest otherwise. Along with working on a new smartwatch, Samsung is developing a smartphone with a flexible display that should debut in early 2014. The company has also continued to push the limits of the Android operating system with its TouchWiz user interface, bringing unique features such as Smart Scroll, Smart Pause and Air View to its Galaxy S4 smartphone.
There is still room for growth in the smartphone market despite the coming wave of wearable computing devices, and as long as it can keep pushing the envelope with Android, there is also still room for Samsung to grow as well.
