Samsung’s newly launched Galaxy S10 range is a great step forward, but the handsets won’t win over Apple iPhone users, according to industry experts.
The S10, Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10 Plus, Galaxy S10 5G and Galaxy Fold launched at Samsung’s Unpacked event in San Francisco on Wednesday.
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Frank Gillett, the vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, told Trusted Reviews that while the S10 family does enough to help Samsung maintain its overall lead in the smartphone market, it won’t win over iPhone users.
“The numerous improvements to the display, camera and performance should just keep Samsung in its leadership position for Android phones, outside of China. And it’s great that they added a smaller, lower-priced S10e to the lineup to offer customers more choice,” he said.
“[And it will outsell the iPhone] in regional markets, but not in the US. The new Galaxy lineup doesn’t have enough to move existing iPhone users, which is very difficult to do, as long as Apple advances reasonably.”
Winning over iPhone users has been a core part of Samsung’s marketing strategy over the past few years, with the company releasing several adverts designed to persuade iPhone buyers to switch.
Kantar Worldpanel Comtech global consumer insight director, Dominic Sunnebo, told Trusted Reviews many iPhone users will be looking to upgrade their handsets this year.
“Despite consumers in the UK holding onto their smartphones for longer (the average life-cycle has now reached 27 months), we forecast that there will be 1.6 million iPhone owners and 2.3 million Android owners ready to upgrade in Q2 2019, representing a very sizeable market for the Galaxy S10 to appeal to,” he said.
Sunnebo added that the Galaxy S10 family will likely still outsell key Android rivals, including the highly anticipated Huawei P30 Pro, but not by much.
“The only brand that has a chance to take the top Android spot from Samsung is Huawei. But given the marked sales slowdown in China, this feat has become tougher than it may have appeared a year ago,” he added.
“Additionally, given Huawei’s de-facto ban from the US and the potential for increased suspicion among Western governments to permeate the minds of consumers, I’d expect Samsung to hang on to the number one spot, but not by much.”
Gillet agreed, arguing that Samsung will need to offer consumers more in 2020 if it wants to maintain its lead.
“The expansion of Bixby languages and the new Galaxy Buds, Galaxy Watch Active and Galaxy Fit, combined with improved services, should keep Samsung ahead of the other Android phone makers – for now,” he said.
“Those devices will help to keep Samsung customers upgrading, even as the re-purchase cycle lengthens. But Samsung needs more engaging services and features to stay in the lead.”
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The Galaxy Watch Active and Galaxy Fit are new fitness trackers that were unveiled alongside the new phones. The Galaxy Buds are Samsung’s latest true-wireless earphones.
Are you an iPhone user that’s tempted by one of Samsung’s new Galaxy phones? Let us know on Twitter @TrustedReviews.
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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.
