Samsung Misses Galaxy S5 Sales Target; Sold 4 Million Less Than the Galaxy S4

[dgstorm]

According to the latest reports, Samsung missed their sales expectations for the Galaxy S5 by a massive 40%. This resulted in sales of 12 Million for the Galaxy S5, which was 4 million less than the previous generation Galaxy S4. On top of that, sales for the Galaxy S5 were even worse in China. Here's a quote, “Galaxy S5 sales were down by about 50% from those of its direct predecessor during the first six months that the device was on sale.”

Apparently, this has resulted in a large glut of already built, but never shipped Galaxy S5 devices languishing in dust on supply shelves. Supposedly, Samsung's board may be looking to oust mobile boss J.K. Shin and replace him with B.K. Yoon. This is despite the fact that Samsung has risen to become the global Android leader under Shin's direction. If this does happen, it just goes to show that when you miss your projections by such a large amount, even the mighty will be thrown to the wolves.

Very soon it might look like a season finale of Game of Thrones at Samsung Mobile HQ.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

 

[johnomaz]

Samsung may be the first since they are so big...were so big...whatever, but I have a feeling other OEMs will be hit the same way soon. Think back a few years. Phones were slow, RAM was minimal and Android updates meant higher system requirements. Now, Android is leaner, more efficient and can run on older phones just fine. Not only that, but with more and more feature right manufacturer home replacements and even Android itself being more feature rich, the super powerful phones of today last much longer. They don't feel dated within a year making you yearn for your 24 month upgrade.

There are people like us that want/love new phones but the vast majority of people don't care about new devices until theirs break. They don't want the trouble of having to install all their apps again, set it all up again and all that jazz. Its more of a burden to them than anything.

 

[kodiak799]

Hey, stop making huge phones. Or at least make a phone that people want instead of just copying what everyone else does.

People don't care about 2k screens (useless!). People care more about battery life than ultra-thin phones. Everyone doesn't want a phablet. 21MP only makes it easier to see how bad the pictures are.

Doesn't seem like it's hard to figure out. We can, perhaps, say the smartphone is officially a commodity now. So they're going to have to figure something else out to push sales.

For starters, might be time to go with 2-yr product cycles to match how frequently people actually upgrade. Four models on alternate 2-yr cycles would mean you could still have a new phone hit the market every 6 months.

 

[mountainbikermark]

A few tweaks less,a lesser camera = S4.
Look for the Note4 to miss target sales as well for the same basic reasoning. The next big thing isn't so big in either case. At least the iPhone changed sizes on a major scale, Samsung not so much of anything.
Not saying the older models are junk but with them being so stellar nothing game changing in the newer versions will inevitably mean many will hold onto what they've got, especially with the newer stuff reaching ever closer to a grand for a new phone pricing.

 

[leeshor]

I feel they made their biggest mistake by overestimating the sales in the first place. They have a lot of different phones on the market that are current including mega and mini. Besides the competition they are dealing with they are eating their young.

What were they thinking about?

 

[boidsonly]

Market saturation is going to do them all in. Instead of abandoning their users, assuming the HW can support SW upgrades, they should be taking care of their respective customer base. A happy customer is a loyal customer. Ask HTC and M$-they failed miserably here.
I have the N3-is the N4 enough of an upgrade to make me AGAIN shell out full price? Absolutely not.

What would make me shell out? Android stock and any app that I want to d/l from the GAPPS from any/all the manufacturers. They all have something unique to offer-they should charge for that feature-not load my phone down with bloatware.

 

[Tonik]

Too many phones too fast with minimal improvements. It's not just a Sammy problem, its an Android problem. No big deal, the weak will get weeded out.

 

[Ollie]

Samsung is shipping more phones by twice the margin of the closest competitor. They are a behemoth in the cellphone industry. The top tier phones aren't even what makes them the largest seller of mobile phones, but you never hear about their low end phone sales.

 

[Jeffrey]

Xiaomi, the worlds number 3 mobile phone supplier announced that they will bypass both Sammy [#1] and Apple [#2] sales in the next 10 years.

 

[Garemlin]

They are taking a page from the Apple playbook. Make something revolutionary instead of making small upgrades. Many people probably didn't see much of a need to upgrade from the S4. Samsung has become the Apple of the Android world. And for no other reason that great marketing.

 

[dgstorm]

They are taking a page from the Apple playbook. Make something revolutionary instead of making small upgrades. Many people probably didn't see much of a need to upgrade from the S4. Samsung has become the Apple of the Android world. And for no other reason that great marketing.

Dangit Garemlin! Your new signature faked me out for a second! lol!

 

[Ollie]

They are taking a page from the Apple playbook. Make something revolutionary instead of making small upgrades. Many people probably didn't see much of a need to upgrade from the S4. Samsung has become the Apple of the Android world. And for no other reason that great marketing.

What would you consider revolutionary? Anything that Samsung makes is quickly deemed to be "gimmicky". When other OEMs push out the same product those products are all of a sudden viewed as revolutionary.

At least Samsung is trying harder to push the envelope while other OEMs sit back, watching to see what sticks, and then push their devices out with a lower R&D overhead.

The only phone recently that I see that has brought anything mentionable to the table was the Motorola X.

 

[kodiak799]

since all the other spec wars are getting kind of played out, I'm looking forward to a battle over storage space!

 

[Ollie]

I'm looking forward to the price wars. China mobiles are going to do us all a huge favor by bringing the same specs to the table at half the price. Then all you have to think about is whether you are brand loyal. If you can get past a name your wallet will win.

 

[Garemlin]

What would you consider revolutionary? Anything that Samsung makes is quickly deemed to be "gimmicky". When other OEMs push out the same product those products are all of a sudden viewed as revolutionary.

At least Samsung is trying harder to push the envelope while other OEMs sit back, watching to see what sticks, and then push their devices out with a lower R&D overhead.

The only phone recently that I see that has brought anything mentionable to the table was the Motorola X.

Samsung releases small incremental refreshes just like Apple does. They have not done anything really groundbreaking with the Galaxy line since it debuted. I'm not saying any other OEM's are doing anything revolutionary either. It has kind of hit a wall. They can only put so much processor power in a smartphone before heat starts becoming a major issue. What they all need to concentrate on is releasing phones with larger batteries and that are optimized for outstanding battery life. They also need to start focusing less on super high 4K resolution displays and concentrate on putting in top quality camera sensors. And they all need to have top quality radios in them. First and foremost our phones are made for communication. We need to be able to do that effortlessly.

A phone with outstanding battery life, decent form factor, respectable speed, top notch reception and a camera that would put some DSLR's to shame would sell a ton.