Samsung Galaxy S4 mini sales have been weak, despite it being a mid-range alternative for the flagship Galaxy S4.
The first of many mini flagships to launch this year, the poor Galaxy S4 mini sales could force smartphone manufacturers to try another tact when launching future devices.
According to DigiTimes sources, the Galaxy S4 mini sales have been “bleak” affected by lower than expected sales of the Samsung Galaxy S4 itself.
Samsung was the first to launch a mini flagship, but with so many other Samsung Galaxy models available, it seems the S4 mini was lost in a sea of mid-range Android devices.
Other smartphone manufacturers have launched their own mid-range alternatives, but it seems some of these have suffered the same fate as the Galaxy S4 mini.
Despite, strong sales for the HTC One, the HTC One mini, which launched with a smaller 4.3-inch 720p HD display and less internal storage, has also seen lower than expected sales. In fact, in HTC’s home country of Taiwan, the HTC One mini price was slash by NT$3,000 (£64) three months after it launched.
More recently, Sony unveiled the Sony Xperia Z1f as a smaller, but similarly specced Sony Xperia Z1. However, it is currently only launching in Japan by the end of the year, with global availability as yet announced.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 mini has a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display and a 1.7GHz dual-core processor with 1.5GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage.
It has an 8-megapixel rear camera and 1.9-megapixels in the front snapper, which is quite a drop from the 13-megapixel rear camera of the Galaxy S4.
With a retail SIM-only price of around £350, it is substantially cheaper than the £579.99 SIM-only Galaxy S4, but takes quite the spec cut in order to achieve that lower price tag.
Next, read our Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Galaxy S4 mini comparison.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
