Samsung’s mobile nightmare is far from over, and the company’s mobile division — which brought in the most profit in recent years — will have a tough quarter ahead as Samsung has to fight against Apple’s iPhone 6 models. Starting Friday, both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus will be available in stores in South Korea as well, The Korea Herald reports, with the publication confirming previous reports that said combined iPhone 6 preorders beat Galaxy Note 4 preorders in the region.
And unfortunately, that’s just the tip of the iPhone 6 iceberg for Samsung.
FROM EARLIER: Samsung’s nightmare scenario is unfolding right before our eyes
According to an analyst, for every Galaxy Note 4 unit the company sells, Apple will sell 10 iPhones. Kim Young-chan from Shinhan Investment wrote in a report that Apple might ship as many as 80 million iPhone units in the October-December period, without separating out iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sales.
“There are not many options for Samsung and LG to counter the iPhone 6 and low-budget Chinese smartphones except for cutting the prices of their products,” the analyst said.
A few days ago, IBK Securities analyst Lee Seung-woo told The Wall Street Journal that the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 4 will be outsold by the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus by at least five times, globally.
The Korea Herald also notes that Apple could secure “a record-high market share” in the country, following the iPhone 6 launch. According to data from Counter Point Research, Samsung is currently the king of the market, with 63% share, while the iPhone is at only 63%.
“It seems inevitable for Samsung and LG to be affected by Apple’s new devices, which show off better integration between hardware and software and user experience than those of the local firms,” an unnamed industry official told the publication.
Unofficial numbers revealed that Samsung may have sold 4.5 million Galaxy Note 4 units during its first month. Estimates suggested Apple may have sold over 20 million iPhone 6 units during the first two weeks (not including China) and over 20 million iPhone 6 units in China during preorders.
Meanwhile, Samsung expects “demand for smartphone and tablet to increase under year-end seasonality while competition among set makers to intensify” in the fourth quarter of the year. “Increased competition for launch of new models by set makers,” is also expected, and “price competition [is expected] to intensify further for year-end promotion” the company wrote in its Q4 2014 outlook section for its mobile division in its Q3 results.
