Finance

Galaxy S4 vs. iPhone 5: Sales Slow Down as Samsung and Apple Take Hits in Shares, Sales, Revenue

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With so many toting a smartphone in their pocket, Samsung and Apple both expect to fall short of their revenue and profit goals, the New York Times reported.

Samsung, the worldwide leader in smartphone and consumer electronics said on Friday they were expecting weak numbers, likely due to the slowing sales of smartphones. According to analysts, high-end smartphones, a market Samsung directly competes with Apple in, have not been selling.

While all smartphone sales continue to grow, it is the more expensive ones that are experiencing a stall in revenue. According to ComScore.com, 58 percent of adults with cell phones currently have smartphones, as opposed to three years ago when that number was 20 percent.

Jung Sang-jin told Reuters that Samsung's underwhelming quarter could be due in part to the latest of the Galaxy smartphone line not selling so well.

"Is Samsung's smartphone story now over? Not quite yet. It's growth is indeed slowing due largely to disappointing sales of the S4," Sang-jin, a fund manager at Dongbu Asset Management, which owns Samsung shares, said.

The disappointing sales report caused Samsung's shares to decrease by three percent Friday, which have been down 17 percent since early June.

"I think Samsung has some exciting stuff up its sleeves," Sang-jin said. "The problem is no one is sure whether these products can really wow investors and consumers."

Samsung and Apple are both reportedly developing smart-watches to act as Bluetooth compliments to their mobile devices. Companies like Sony and Pebble have already sold their own models, but the smartphone giants will supposedly enter the arena to explore alternatives to cell phones.

"The concern is the future of the smartphone market, which is already saturated at the high end," C. W. Chung, an analyst at Nomura Securities told the New York Times. "The smartphone industry may be becoming more like the PC industry," meaning more consumers make their decision based on price instead of brand.

If that is to hold true, then Apple and Samsung's high-end smartphones are in for continually slow sales.

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