Ever since Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge were unveiled in February and made official a few weeks later, the web has been full of excellent, positive reviews for the two phones.
Be it the design language, the performance or even the camera, a lot has been said about the phone, much more than what we’ve heard about Apple’s iPhone 6S and the larger iPhone 6S Plus.
A number of revered tech sites have been quick to label Samsung Galaxy S7 better than the iPhone or the leader of the smartphone class. Their remarks have been further echoed by the latest revelations coming from the company’s Q1 2016 earnings. According to Samsung, the fact that it is currently leading the pack when it comes to smartphone sales in the U.S. market is down to the good sales it has been making from both Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.
“Q1 2016 saw overall earnings grow thanks to the early launch and successful sales of Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, better memory product mix, extended supply of System LSI products and improved OLED panels’ sales,” the company said.
There is no doubt that this is possible, especially given that a lot has been put into the making of this phone as Samsung looks to get the better of its archrival, Apple. Well, as it seems, the South Korean game plan is working accordingly. When compared to Q1 2015, Samsung’s revenue improved by 6%, with the net income changing by a massive 13%. Samsung is even expecting this to improve down the year thanks to the flagships’ popularity. Despite noting that the S7 and S7 Edge were at the heart of its Q1 2016 success, Samsung declined to give out details on the exact figures regarding the sale of the two phones.
Still, reports are rife that the company shipped about 10 million units of Samsung Galaxy S7, a figure that is about 30% higher than what previous predictions had pointed at. However, it is important to note that what is shipped is not the same as what is sold, which makes it possible that fewer than 10 million units have been sold during the period since the phones were launched.
What now for Apple?
Market analysts seem to agree on one thing – Samsung Galaxy S7 is a definite hit. But what does this mean for Apple and its looming iPhone 7? To make the most out of the smartphone market, Cupertino will have to be better than iPhone 6S and 6S Plus.
For the first time, Apple reported declining iPhone sales in the latest quarter, something that is the total opposite in the rival camp. Apple has its own strengths and weaknesses as far as iPhones are concerned, but so does Samsung. With this in mind, the company will have to do everything in order to regain its top spot in the U.S. smartphone market, at least.
iPhone 6S and 6S Plus were mere incremental upgrades from 2014’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. This is probably the reason why iPhone sales are flattening as enthusiasts fail to see the innovation that once defined iProducts a few years ago. While the recently-released iPhone SE doesn’t have what it takes to battle with the big boys from Samsung, coming in with a much-changed iPhone 7 might spare Apple some shame.
I replaced my iPhone 6 with an Galaxy s7 … apple will need to come up truly special to get me back. This thing rocks