GS3 Sales Swell, But Is There Really A One-On-One Android Contender For The iPhone?
Posted by Michael Nace on Wednesday Jul 25, 2012 Under Android, iPhone 5 OpinionThe tech media has pitted the GS3 against the iPhone 5 all year. But considering its modest sales compared to the iPhone, why are we still having these GS3 vs. iPhone conversations?
I was recently talking to one of my contacts in the consumer electronics accessories market, and it was interesting to hear why so few custom cases and accessories exist for even the better-selling Android and Windows smartphones: “they just don’t sell well 0— why would we build cases for them? We know the iPhone sells.” That makes a lot of sense.
Recently, however, the tech media has really pushed the notion of Samsung’s Galaxy S 3 taking on the eventual iPhone 5 in a head-to-head match-up that could begin to change the smartphone paradigm. For as much as this theory might seem little more than an easy storyline to maintain, case designers have actually bought into it — you’re seeing more and more accessories for the GS3, particularly cases.
But for all the fanfare and buzz about the GS3, what kind of sales has it seen so far this year? 10 million.
This according to a recent Reuters article which, thanks to its mainstream appeal, has helped to carry the torch that the GS3 could indeed be an iPhone killer: “Samsung Electronics Co expects sales of its new Galaxy S III, launched at the end of last month as a main rival to Apple’s iPhone, to top 10 million during July, making it the South Korean group’s fastest selling smartphone.” Now, 10 million units sold to date is nothing to shake a stick at when it comes to abstract sales. But when you consider that the iPhone 4S sold more than four times that number in its first weekend of sales**, and that its total sales after a year will dwarf the GS3′s sales, it begs the question: why are we still having this conversation?
“Perhaps part of the reason why there is a persistent desire to match the iPhone 5 up against other single Android devices is the fact that analysts still see single Android challenges as market changers for the iPhone. Both Apple and Samsung, for example, posted similarly disappointing sales expectations in late June, caused ostensibly by the continued economic woes. However, analyst spin continues to favor this GS3/iPhone 5 match-up. According to eWeek:
The iPhone 4S “is a little bit long in the tooth, when compared to other phones with better specs. To put it plainly, consumers are getting a little bit tired of the look of the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S,” Beijing-based IDC analyst TZ Wong told Reuters.
Wong and other also pointed to devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S III, saying consumers want devices with (very) large displays and cutting-edge features.”
Has the GS3′s 10 million in sales put a dent in potential iPhone 5 sales down the line? Perhaps to an extent. But you’ll also recall that last year, the same was said about the preemptive GS2, and yet the iPhone 4S went on to be the biggest iPhone success to date in terms of sales.
But it isn’t just the Samsung Galaxy series of mobile gear that gets erroneously stacked up against Apple products.
An article today from Pop Herald takes a similar tack with Google’s upcoming, new Nexus: “Who wants a Nexus 7-like smartphone? I Do, and it looks like it has a chance against the iPhone 5 based on the tablet’s early success.” The crux of this article is that a cheaper Nexus smartphone will blast the iPhone 5 through a lower price point. What, like how the Kindle Fire has done to the iPad?
But this is the model: Android x will crush iPhone y because it is z. And z can equal any number of things: bigger screen, better camera, or lower price. But all of these equations, the fact remains that none of the competing Android devices, no matter how much tech enthusiasts seem to think that they outpace the iPhone in price or spec, Google’s model is still to compete with the iPhone by empowering lots of Android smartphones; not to compete one-on-one with Apple.
By Michael Nace
**Retraction: Sorry, folks. I meant to indicate the fourfold number for the quarter. I was originally working out that sentence to compare the first weekend of the iPhone 4S’s sales to that of the GS3, but changed to the other figure. I apologize for the flub.
Michael Nace is the Publisher of the iPhone 5 News Blog and iPhone 6 News Blog. He has published articles about the iPhone since 2010.
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July 25th, 2012 at 8:18 pm
It’s a great phone but the fact that the GS3 has sold so much units is because there is only 1 Galaxy SIII in all carriers. Before it was the Galaxy S 2 skyrocket, the galaxy s 2 whatever, the galaxy s 2 twinkle lights….. etc. This fragmentation is non-existent with the Galaxy S 3.
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July 25th, 2012 at 8:39 pm
Michael; if you lived in Boston, we’d be best friends. I’d make sure of it haha.
That being said, I find somewhat amusing that so many companies/analysts/tech junkies/coffee shop patrons want to see Apple fail (Maybe not that LAST one…anybody been to starbucks recently?
)
What I find even more amusing is that all these analysts state that “consumers want (very) large screens and cutting edge features.” This guy needs to seriously wake up and smell the coffee or take a caffeine pill. Clearly not Mr. Wong considering the Android “jesus” has only sold 10 million so far..which is something to be really proud of, but it’s quite annoying hearing how the iPhone 4s sucks and how the GS3 is awesome and screw the iPhone 5 because that’ll suck too! <—That is a legit statement made by a former friend.
Girlfriend wants the GS3…said its big and fast and pretty. Told her that will be reason enough to break up with her. Joking aside, I can't lie it is very nice to LOOK at, but something about just feels…off. I can't place my finger on it. Just doesn't give me that giddy feeling every time I download a new app on my i4.
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July 25th, 2012 at 8:45 pm
@Blvck: “Michael; if you lived in Boston, we’d be best friends.” Cool — I could use a best friend.
My article is probably going to come across as an Android-hating piece. If it does, all apologies. My point is really that I don’t foresee any smartphone singlehandedly taking on the iPhone this year, 2013, or 2014. Google will continue to have to compete with Apple “horizontally” by offering a wide range of devices from a wide range of designers, at least for the time being.
Also, look for Apple to enter search and compete with Google in the next few years. You read it here first.
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July 25th, 2012 at 8:46 pm
Even to this day, I still look over the iPhone 4 and wonder in amazement how..luxurious it feels to me. Glass and steel is an awesome combo.
If the next iPhone really is a unibody, it’d be really cool if they used a composite of ceramic or steel. Just my .02
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July 25th, 2012 at 8:49 pm
It is clear that Apple is focusing on selling the whole eco-system rather than just the phone. The future is in cloud computing and smartphones, tablets and computer are merely tools to access it. If Samsung is not coming up with something similar to iCloud, I do not see how they, like the rest be able to keep up with Apple by the end of 2012. What do you think Michael?
P.S. I have followed this blog for a very long time, and would like to express my sincerest appreciation of the effort you are putting into this blog Michael
Xiang
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July 26th, 2012 at 12:27 am
@Blvck
I agree. I broke my i4 so im using an android phone right now, and I absolutely hate it. Nothing feels smooth like iOS.
Let me put it this way…
The most updated, current, Windows 7 is easy to use, visually pleasing, and feels “right.”
The most updated, current, iOS Lion is easy to use, visually pleasing, and feels “right.”
However, with mobile devices,
The most updated, current, Android OS is easy to use, visually pleasing, and feels TERRIBLE.
The most updated, current, iOS is easy to use, visually pleasing, and feels AMAZING.
If it feels wrong, you dont buy it.
If you drive a car and it looks amazing, but feels wrong while driving it, you dont buy it.
If you are holding a visually pleasing phone with amazing specs, but it doesnt feel right….you dont buy it.
Thats the wrap.
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July 26th, 2012 at 1:09 am
If the iPhone 5 is everything we all want it to be AND looks amazing then it will definitely be very successful. If it turns out to be the 4S Stretch then I think it will struggle…not only because people are tired of the look of the 4/4S, but because it would be an indication that the iPhone just won’t be the same without Steve Jobs running the show. The i5 absolutely has to be what we have all been wanting for over a year now.
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July 26th, 2012 at 2:29 am
@GetSwole, I agree with the OS X comment. I’m restoring Lion Server because Mountain Lion server was just wrong. No DHCP, the migration failed, and I don’t have 20 hours to recreate all the settings for multiple domains on one e-mail server.
But, on the good front, we got a 4S from a marketing study to play with for 2 months… let’s see… what happens (we hope) in two months?
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July 26th, 2012 at 3:59 am
Personally, I think the Galaxy S3 isn’t so much the iPhone killer but an indication of what is to come from the iPhone competitors.
It has a great screen, not as high a resolution as the retina display but the colours are equally (if not more) vibrant. It has a very fast processor and plenty of RAM too.
It feels more sturdy than the Galaxy S2 and offers some really attractive features that iOS doesn’t yet provide.
It isn’t quite up to the same level as iOS for user experience (though it is more customizable) and as a whole, hardware and software it (again, in my opinion) doesn’t beat my 4S. However, the incremental steps between the Galaxy S, Galaxy S2 and Galaxy S3 have been huge leaps. The Galaxy S4 could actually be a like for like rival to the iPhone 6 (or whatever that iteration is called). Samsung are gaining market share, publicity and a general feel-good factor around their flagship phone and cpoupled with the innovations in their features Apple are going to have to keep on their toes if they are going to stay ahead indefinitely.
The number 1 spot is gained through hard workand solid R&D. Resting on your laurels is a sure-fire method for letting your competition catch and overtake you.
The S3 might not be better then the iPhone 5 but the S4 could well be better than the iPhone 6 if Apple take their eye off the ball.
Personally, I hope the iPhone 5 blows every other smartphone out of the water and makes me want to upgrade from my 4S.
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July 26th, 2012 at 4:15 am
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July 26th, 2012 at 4:18 am
I like how I said “long story short” and then typed another long *** paragraph haha. Sorry.
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July 26th, 2012 at 10:40 am
Just applied for a position with Samsung in San Diego that was posted this week. Waiting to see if I get a shot at it. Would be fun to be around for the development of the next generation of the Galaxy series. Wonder how the culture is in regards to employee’s and their iphones? Back in the day, during the gsm/cdma wars, having a nokia phone was seriously frowned upon at qualcomm.
All things considered: I’ll get the IP5 as long as the screen is bigger, otherwise i’ll likely skip it. Is it too much to hope that Apple will approve iblacklist so I don’t have to bother with the jailbreak?
Son is turning 7 in a couple of weeks, so what better gift than the Nexus 7? Just waiting for the protective case on the website “coming soon”. He can leave my ipad alone.
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July 26th, 2012 at 10:47 am
@Michael Nace in regards to “Also, look for Apple to enter search and compete with Google in the next few years. You read it here first.”
Didn’t you first say this last year with regard to where Siri was drawing it’s data from, and how since it wasn’t using google info it would be Apple’s entry into search through a completly new and seperate UI? Don’t remember the exact article but think it was around October
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July 26th, 2012 at 12:38 pm
@GetSwole, if you ever get to LoTRO (I love the books, and hey, I can be a Hobbit burglar), let me know which server you go to, and we can help Frodo and the Fellowship together.
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July 26th, 2012 at 12:43 pm
“Now, 10 million units sold to date is nothing to shake a stick at when it comes to abstract sales. But when you consider that the iPhone 4S sold more than four times that number in its first weekend of sales, and that its total sales after a year will dwarf the GS3′s sales, it begs the question: why are we still having this conversation?”
I thought that the 4S sold four million its first weekend, not 40 million.
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July 26th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
@Ironcheftvdinner…well done. Apple wishes it sold 40 million in its first weekend. I don’t think they’ve sold 40 million of a particular device in any given quarter.
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July 26th, 2012 at 5:40 pm
Apple sold 37 Million iPhones in the 1st quarter, ending December 31, 2011.
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2012/01/24Apple-Reports-First-Quarter-Results.html
Apple.com is our friend.
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July 26th, 2012 at 5:45 pm
@Ironcheftvdinner Apple sold 37 Million its 1st quarter. I provided a link from Apple’s website where they globally announced their quarterly profits/results. Once its approved you can thank me for proving that you’re right. Apple didnt sell 40 Million 1st weekend. They sold a rounded number of 40 Million 1st quarter. Hahaha with a refreshed phone. Imagine the new phone. Even more sales. Im getting excited, are you? iPhone was killin it a year ago and still, even the GS3 cant match up the sales. 37 Million is over tripple what the GS3 currently has, and just shy of quadruple. Samsung is most definitely disappointed.
Once again, I provided a link from Apple.com of proof, once it’s approved you can follow the link. It’ll be comment #17, and this will change to comment #18
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July 26th, 2012 at 8:31 pm
@GetSwole I liked your comparison of WoW to apple, it’s actually one I’ve thought of in my head several times when trying to think of a dynasty you could compare with the iPhone.
Question for you: you mentioned you were currently using an android device and said you hated it, which phone/os version are you using? I have a gs2 right now (previous phone was a iPhone 3gs). There were a lot of things that I missed about the iPhone when I switched to give android a shot, mainly keyboard accuracy and the solidarity of iOS (netflix almost always seemed to crash at some point while streaming on the gs2), but I recently started using a modded version of ice cream sandwich (CyanogenMod 9) on my gs2 and it has greatly improved my experience with the phone. If your phone can do it, I’d give it a shot and see what you think! Or if you already have ICS and still hate it then this was just a waste haha.
Was just curious to see what you we’re playing with. Game on sir.
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July 26th, 2012 at 10:51 pm
@Mike H. Im not exactly sure which phone I currently have. It was just a replacement phone ATT offered me, but I hate everything about it. If you’re typing a LONG text message and then accidentally hit the home button, you lose 100% of everything you just typed, and the home button is right under the keyboard so….
Next on my list is the internal memory. Theres literally no space for anything. I believe this phone has 2 gigs of internal memory, but the actual software installed on the phone takes up majority of all of it. In-fact, all I have is 1 app installed because thats all I have room for. “Movies” app, to tell me movie times.
I have to delete my text messsages because I run out of internal memory.
Next is the battery. If I leave open a text message but then click the top button to shut the screen off, the phone will be dead within 1-2 hours. You cannot leave ANYTHING open and then shut the screen off. All applications and text messages must be closed and exited out of, or else your battery will be GONE the next time you try to use the phone.
Keyboard is another issue. Ive had the phone for 6 months now and still cannot adapt to the keyboard and make spelling mistakes on every single text I type. But with the iPhone I literally never made errors. It is SO easy to type accurately on the iPhone. But after 6 months I still can’t type for s*** on this phone, so obviously its the phone not the user. The phone is inaccurate with keyboard spacing/programing/whatever. I had 0 problems with the iPhone’s keyboard, which I have used from the iPhone 3G launch all the way to 2012, and I upgraded iPhones throughout the process as well and still had no keyboard issues ever.
Another thing is I slammed this phone on my desk after getting so frustrated with it, and the screen cracked. Are you serious? I had dropped my iPhone on concrete without a case at least 30-40 times, and im NOT exaggerating what so ever, and the screen never cracked. The screen finally cracked when I purposely chunked my iPhone across the room into the wall, and that was the 1st time I had ever broken an iPhone. Im telling you, those mofo’s are tough as hell. Whenever I got mad at someone on the phone I could just slam the iPhone into the table and it would never break, and im tellin ya, a lot of people piss me off when I talk to them on the phone, and my iPhone lived through all of it. Only when I chunked it at the wall did it break. But this damn Android POS broke the 1st time I slammed it on the desk. It has 0 durability what so ever. I broke this damn Android the 1st week I had it. What kinda crap is that. People complain about the iPhone screen cracking? ARE YOU KIDDING ME LOL No they need to experience how s**tty this Android phone is.
Next is the speed. If I get a text message and all I try to do is slide the slider over to unlock the phone, the damn thing will freeze. You click the top button to turn the screen off and it wont turn off because the phone is frozen. This happens weekly. Ill simply try to go read a text message and pull the notification menu from the top of the screen, and itll freeze half way and my entire phone locks up. And I havent specifically checked on the battery but im willing to bet 1 freeze takes out 50% of my battery. I wouldnt doubt it. I bet it does now that we’re talking about it.
Next is charging. I have to tape my charger cord in a specific way against my phone for it to charge. And this was BEFORE I ever slammed the phone. The battery would die mid-day and then I’d plug it in to charge and It wouldnt charge. It’d be on the charger all night and then Id wake up and the phone is completely dead. In fact if you have a full battery and then dont touch the phone over night, you’ll wake up to a red battery about to die. For NOTHING. You were sleeping and it went to 5% battery.
Do I even need to search for more things that are wrong with this phone? lmao.
NOTE: I have slammed the phone 1 time and 1 time only. Ever since the screen cracked from the 1st slam I never again slammed it because I figured the entire thing would fall to pieces. Now dont get me wrong, I didnt slam it hard at all. It was a simple slap onto the desk, and I guess the balls of my hand were too much for the puny little screen of this poorly built phone.
I cant even believe ATT sells brand new phones that are this horrible. And it wasn’t some cheap ass phone either. I paid 200 bucks for this replacement phone.
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July 27th, 2012 at 7:08 pm
@GetSwole, Sorry you had such a rough experience :-/
Was that phone $200 with a contract or $200 without? If it was without then it sounds like you do indeed have a cheap POS android since without a contract a lot of the high end phones reach up to $600+ (I think an iPhone without contract is over $700)
I will say though that durability is not something I’ve had an issue with, I actually seem to have had the opposite situation. When I had my first 3gs, I was listening to music through the speaker while sitting on a lawn chair on the patio and the phone slid off of my knee taking a 1 foot drop onto the patio and the screen shattered. Luckily my girlfriend at the time was about to upgrade her 3gs for an iPhone 4 and she gave me her old one. After that my iPhone never left it’s protective case.
I’ve dropped my GS2 more times than I can count without a case and the screen doesn’t have a scratch on it (gotta love the gorilla glass). The plastic frame of the phone obviously has a few nicks in the corners but that’s to be expected.
I did however share the same issues with poor battery management on my gs2 for a good few months as well, and it was EXTREMELY frustrating. I would not even use the phone over night and forget to plug it in and it would drop 20-30% charge. Not to mention the charge time for the battery felt like 6 hours (coming from the 3gs which had the 1 hour quick charge to 60% one of the best features of the phone imo). And god forbid I wanted to use the phone for more than an hour during the day. This would result in the phone going from a full charge to below 30%.
Then came the day ICS was released and by a miracle, my phones standby time went from what seemed like 18 hours to over 2 days. I remember taking a train into NYC from a station on Long Island and seeing the phone being only at 26% percent battery and thinking “Well, this will be dead in an hour or two”. After spending 12 hours there and getting back to my house, the phone still had 8% charge left. I was ecstatic.
The android keyboard became usable, and (almost) as accurate as what I remembered from the 3gs.
The user interface became much more streamlined and smooth. The “jerkiness” when switching screens or swapping between apps disappeared.
And I’m happy to say that thus far (about a month in), I haven’t had a crash yet and this is running a flashed rom too, not stock.
Obviously you’ve had a nasty experience with an android phone, which definitely sucks. But I guess the point I’m trying to make is don’t count all android phones as inferior devices that are out for the count. Sounds like the one you had was a lesser model. I’d have been pissed and disappointed with the phone too had I shared that experience after coming from an iPhone. Give one of the flagships a try and see what you think.
The one difference between the WoW comparison to other MMO’s and the iPhone/Android comparison that I want to close this with is that: Both Blizzard and Apple changed their respective playing fields with the product they released. You can look at the original iPhone just as you can look at vanilla wow and think, jeez these really sucked compared to how far they’ve come.
Both have kept on their toes and constantly improved and innovated their respective product, whether it be WoW adding the random dungeon/raid finder, or apple adding a retina display and that neat sms feature that uses data instead of texts when talking to other iPhones.
The one thing that’s different is that while all other MMO’s that have tried to compete with WoW have either gone free to play, or have lost a majority of their subscribers, Android has managed to improve on it’s phones and are keeping in the race with apple rather than get obliterated completely like other MMO’s and WoW.
Just wanted to play the devils advocate a bit here maybe try to change your opinion on Android. I personally loved both my iPhone and my Droid, and am looking forward to getting my hands on the new GS3 to see how it feels and performs, and to see what the new iPhone will be packing too.
Thanks for the read! And if ya find out what model phone you have let me know! Good luck with your POS droid till you get your hands on an iPhone again. Make sure to get a case this time! OR a stress ball to throw instead
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