back to article BIG trouble in Big China: Samsung cops it RIGHT in the wallet

Competition from Chinese smartphone makers has mashed Samsung's China sales, resulting in a warning from the Korean company that its third quarter earnings would drop by 60 per cent when compared with the previous year. We’ve seen how Xiaomi, whose CEO fashions himself on Steve Jobs, is more of a threat to Samsung than Apple. …

  1. dogged

    I don't think we're anywhere near "Peak Lenovo" yet, though.

  2. leon clarke

    To what extent are Apple prices grounded in reality?

    My guess is they can only maintain so much of a premium over Samsung, so Samsung reacting to the Chinese will have an impact on Apple profits.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: To what extent are Apple prices grounded in reality?

      If you want an iPhone, you have to buy from Apple, and pay what they ask. If you want a phone, you have a lot of choices, and there have been options much cheaper than Samsung that are pretty much equivalent for several years now. Those other options haven't been hurting Apple's sales which are still (slowly) growing, and if Samsung drops their pricing it doesn't change anything as far as non-Apple options.

      Basically, Samsung managed through marketing (spending several times what Apple does) to gain mindshare so a lot of people buying a smartphone chose Samsung. Now people are figuring out that Android != Samsung, and they can get a phone that's identical except for the Samsung logo for half the price. That's what's killing Samsung's sales, but that won't have much effect on Apple's sales.

      While the things you can do with an iPhone are pretty much the same as the things you can do with an Android, you can only get that iPhone from Apple. You can get an Android from any number of vendors, and the Chinese companies are quite happy to compete on much lower profit margins than companies like Samsung would like.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The beauty of Android

    The beauty of Android is because so many companies use it you aren't tied in to one manufacturer so you don't have to upgrade to any old crap that they peddle out like over on the dark side.

    Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy Note 3 were amazing products. The Galaxy S5 sucked and the Galaxy Note 4 doesn't offer much that the note 3 didn't.

    The best and most innovative Android phones at the minute aren't coming out of Korea.

    1. Obitim

      Re: The beauty of Android

      Just ditched my Galaxy S3 and moved to the HTC 1M(8) - seems to be a hell of a lot better than what Samsung were offering for my needs.

      I've not seen anything particularly new or different in any of the flag ship models in terms of (usable) software or specs (I'll be honest, the differences in PPI and cameras are minimal to someone with an unskilled eye like me!)

      What made me go for the HTC? The fact it's speakers are on the front of the phone (expandable storage too) and there does not appear to be as much bloatware on the device compared to Samsung.

      This is another reason I like Android, I can buy apps and they'll transfer to my new phone even if a shift manufacturers, so when I swap this phone for my next one I can weigh up what I want and which Android peddler most suits my needs...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: The beauty of Android

        HTC One M8 is probably the android phone to beat right now and was one of the ones I was thinking of when I posted my comment. It looks like a well built phone and the design looks in my mind more Apple than some recent apple products...

        I've been disappointed with recent Samsung efforts. They need something special from the galaxy s6 but I don't think we'll see it.

        At this rate phonebloks could be my next upgrade..

        1. Obitim

          Re: The beauty of Android

          I went purely on the front speaker thing but since I've been using the new phone I really like it. As you say, the build is really premium and feels nice, I didn't really care when I had a Samsung about the fact is was made of plastic but the metallic manufacturing does make a difference!

          I never took my battery out of the Samsung but I did want removeabel storage as all my music and films are stored on my SD card

          Phonebloks will be the next big thing I reckon, will be very interesting!

  4. solo

    Phone is anti-macho

    Google knew this first. Sammy also knew that. So did Apple. The profit they earned for half a decade is already greening their garden.

    The real question is who will make a successful watch or spec now.

  5. zen1

    I'll pass on Chinese CRAP! I was given a Chinese made tablet that was marketed by Best Buy, and it simply sucks. Supposedly it is running Android OS but I'll be damned if it's usable. It's overheated a few times, crashes about every other time I use it, frequent lock ups, a constant need to keep resetting it up. Plus it takes a LONG time to boot. While the inspirational quotes from various world leaders are quite nice, fact is it's a turd dressed up as a tablet.

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