Did Samsung just say it’s afraid of the iPhone 8? Samsung on Thursday posted it’s earnings results for the second quarter of the year, revealing record profits driven by strong component sales. The Galaxy S8 outsold the Galaxy S7 during the period, Samsung said, although the mobile division did not post record sales because of a decrease in mid-range and entry-level phone sales.
Samsung expects increased competition in the mobile landscape in the second half of the year, and while it doesn’t specifically mention the iPhone 8, it seems the company is somewhat afraid of Apple’s upcoming handset.
“In the second half, demand for smartphones and tablets is forecast to increase as the market enters a period of strong seasonality,” Samsung said in a blog post. “However, competition is expected to intensify as new smartphone models are released by competitors.”
The company did confirm that a Galaxy Note is going to be launched in Q3. A few days ago, Samsung confirmed that it’ll unveil a new smartphone on August 23rd, which can only be the Galaxy Note 8.
“In response, Samsung will launch a new Galaxy Note with enhanced performance and features, to maintain the strong sales momentum of its premium smartphones, together with the Galaxy S8 and S8+,” the company said.
But Samsung doesn’t think its mobile division will do better in the third quarter of the year, compared to the period ending in June.
“Looking into the third quarter, revenue and profit are expected to decline QoQ due to increased marketing expenses associated with the launch of the new Galaxy Note and the reduced launching effect of the Galaxy S8 and S8+,” Samsung said.
It sounds like Samsung is expecting lower sales for both its flagships in the coming quarter. Coincidentally, that’s the quarter when Apple announces new devices during its annual fall iPhone event.
What’s also interesting about Samsung’s wording is the “marketing expenses” reference. The Galaxy Note 8 is already expected to be a very expensive handset, and it looks like Samsung is willing to spend so much money to sell it that its marketing efforts will impact the bottom line for the quarter.
