iPhone 5S to be better than Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One
Apple is preparing to release the iPhone 5S this autumn and it has to compete with two awesome smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One. Lately Apple hinted that iPhone 5S will be amazing and come with really nice features. Its design is also expected to be improved.
Samsung Galaxy S4, a device of which we have already heard a lot, even before its unveiling on March 14, 2013 at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Many rumors on its features circulated for a long time and the Samsung Electronics company planned to introduce the smartphone as one of the most powerful devices on the smart phone market.
It was intended to be available for usage in 155 countries at the end of April 2013 (only 1 months and a half from unveiling) This Wednesday, Samsung Electronics launched the new device in Dubai. The fact that the event was initially held at Burj Khalifa, which is the tallest tower in the world, was meant to symbolize Samsung’s towering ambitions.
The expectations Samsung Electronics has with the new Galaxy S4 are overwhelming. They want to get 50 percent market share of the mobile market in the UAE. According to Young Soo Kim, President of Samsung Gulf Electronics, at the moment they detain 44,9 percent market share of the mobile phones in UAE. His speech regarding the aims of the company was held during Wednesday’s launch.
On the other hand, Hayssam Yassine, head of telecommunications group at Samsung Gulf, said their high hopes from the Galaxy S4 are much higher than 50 percent of the market share The coincidence is that Samsung Galaxy’s S4 launch in Dubai happened almost at the same time with the announcement that Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) made: the company’s first profits decline in a decade [if you want to find out more on this topic, please follow our site for a dedicated article].
In exchange, Apple came with the news of intending to launch an amazing iPhone 5S products which, according to the company’s CEO, Tim Cook, is worth waiting for. The company already has an assigned team that will bring the project to light. When it comes to the device, it will have new hardware, software and services which are all intended to make it better than the products of the competition. Not a long time ago rumors on the rejection of a shipment of around 8 million iPhone 5S smartphones have appeared.
The problem for Apple is that if the rumors are true, then the Samsung Galaxy S4 competitor will remain the one with the greatest market share in the area for a longer time.
Meanwhile, the “Cupertino-based company” is trying to manage the happiness of the shareholders with cash dividends. It succeeded in increasing its dividend with an impressive percent of 15, as it got to $3,05 share. At the same time the company’s stock buyback program increased from $10 billion to $60 billion, with expectations of $100 billion of cash under the program by the end of 2015.
The results of the buyback program, as Apple presented them on Wednesday, show the following: the program began to be successful, when it comes to the budget side, as it increased with $55 billion, which may be also converted into an average rate of $30 billion per year from the time of the first dividend payment in August 2012 through December 2015.
The fact that the two competitors decided to announce important news on their business the same day – Apple’s year-on-year profits decline and Samsung’s unveiling of the Galaxy S4 in Dubai – doesn’t mean that one of them was not fair play. Howbeit, the market analysts consider that there is a strong connection between Samsung’s raise and Apple’s downfall.
Still the term downfall is a little amplified, as Apple is continuing to make profits, and not insignificant ones. Figures show that for the March quarter, the company managed to sell a great number of devices, compared to the same period in 2012:
37.4 million iPhones in the quarter,versus 35.1 million in the year-ago quarter.
19.5 million iPads during the quarter, compared to 11.8 million in the year-ago quarter.
The only category which was better in sales last year was the one of the Macs, as he company sold just under 4 million such devices this year, compared to 4 million in the year-ago quarter.
In revenues, the sum made by Apple for the March quarter is of $43.6 billion, which is an earning record for the company.
Al of the above figures are confirmed by Apple in a media statement. In the same report the quarterly revenue notified by the company was of f $43.6 billion and quarterly net profit of $9.5 billion, or $10.09 per diluted share. These results position Apple better than the same period last year when it comes to the total revenue which was of $39.2 billion. The net profit though decreased from $11.6 billion or $12.30 per diluted share.
If you are overwhelmed by figures, then the sum up is that the Apple company managed to sell 1 million more iPhones and 1 million additional iPads than analysts had expected it to. On the other hand the net profits declining by more than $2 billion from the results announced in the same quarter last year, mean automatically that a lower cost competitor came on the market with satisfying devices. The problem for Apple is that the lower cost, almost same features device is just the beginning in the “battle” for market share, as the launch of the Dh2, 599 – with the cost of $700 might seize the market.
Overall, the gross margin for Apple was of 37,5 percent compared to 47,4 percent in the year-ago quarter, as the company confirmed. And this is where Samsung comes in the scene. The difference in loss of about 10 percent is actually a win for the Samsung company. The company’s products are positioned in the consumers’ minds in the same line with Apple’s iPhones. The products have differences in components, where the price difference comes from: Samsung uses plastic and lower-cost components when Apple uses expensive metal for the devices.
Analysts are not yet convinced on the competition of Apple, as Samsung and other Asian producers might win by low prices of their components and Apple might remain the only one positioned with expensive and excellent quality products. Still, the company is said to be planning to launch a cheaper iPhone dedicated for India and China markets, where the role in deciding the global smartphone domination is very important and might be decisive. The confirmation that the overseas markets are important for the company’s success
is in fact the percent of the international sales which is represented by 66 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
Apple is now the largest dividend payer today and of all time on a non-inflation adjusted basis, says Howard Silverblatt of S&P Dow Jones Indexes. Investors have been demanding to know what Apple plans to do with its stash of $145 billion in cash and investments. Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, confirmed that the cash generation of the company remains very strong, with an ending cash balance of $145 billion and $12.5 billion in cash flow from operations during the quarter.
“Our cash generation remains very strong, with $12.5 billion in cash flow from operations during the quarter and an ending cash balance of $145 billion,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO.
The expectations for Apple’s budget are high, according to the company’s representatives. It is expected to utilize about $1 billion annually to net-share-settle vesting restricted stock units and also is set to return $100 billion to its shareholders, by the end of 2015.
Coming back to the results, Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO also communicated that the results of more than double the size of the capital return program announced in 2012 are satisfying for the company. Also, he believes that repurchasing the shares is actually a great usaged of the capital and it is a great way of increasing the capital return program.
Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, confirmed the action that Apple will do next related to this issue: return capital to shareholders through dividends, share repurchases. The plans are for the company include generating cash in excess in order to operate the business, invest in the needs of the consumers and mantain the flexibility in order to be able to have strategic opportunities
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