back to article Apple cored: Samsung sells 10 million Galaxy S4 in a month

Samsung's Galaxy S4 has become the South Korean firm's fastest selling smartphone after shifting some 10 million units since its launch in April. By way of comparison, Apple's 21 September 2012 launch of the iPhone 5 yielded over five million in sales in the opening weekend - although Cupertino did not reveal how many had sold …

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  1. PC1512

    Right - so in a full month, Samsung have only managed to double what Apple sold in the first two days of their own launch.

    And ok, Apple's quarterly figure includes sales of the two older iPhone models still on the market - but still show they're selling more than 10m per month long after the iPhone 5 could be considered new.

    Yes, what a knockout success for Samsung. The boys at Cupertino may as well pack up now.

    1. Dazed and Confused

      Re: only managed to double what Apple sold in the first two days

      Don't forget that both these figure include all the pre-ordered phones. So saying they sold 5M in two days is a bit of a stretch, as is no doubt the 10M in one month.

      Haven't bother to get mine yet. The S2 is still fine, but mostly because waiting a short while then threatening to leave current provider will get me a much better price than joining the crowd of "most have this weeks model" fans. Their just phones FFS.

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        @ Dazed and Confused

        Have a downvote, because "Their just phones FFS" bothers me too much

        1. Archibald Trumpetbeetle
          Happy

          Re: @ Dazed and Confused

          > Have a downvote, because "Their just phones FFS" bothers me too much

          Unterminated quotes bother me too much!

      3. wikkity

        Re: Their just phones

        Who's just phones? FFS!

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Who's just phones?

          Shouldn't that be "whose just phones"?

          The OP seemed to exclaim that certain unnamed people were in possession of telephones that were in some way righteous.

          I guess it would explain why these phones are selling so well. Who could resist a device that was ideologically superior?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            @ Graham

            LOL. That is why they call it the Jesus phone, dont'cha know.

      4. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: only managed to double what Apple sold in the first two days

        So Samsung shipped (not necessarily sold to end users) 10m to vendors (which probably included stock for people like Vodafone) in the first month and Apple SOLD 5m to end users in 2 days... hmm...

      5. N13L5
        Pint

        Re: only managed to double what Apple sold in the first two days

        Will be mildly interesting to see how Apple's new Galaxy S4 competitor does in this year's ever more saturated market...

    2. LarsG
      Meh

      Read the story

      And just yaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeedddddd.

      The only people who care about this must have sad, insignificant, inconsequential and unimportant lives.

      1. Amorous Cowherder
        Facepalm

        Re: Read the story

        "And just yaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeedddddd.

        The only people who care about this must have sad, insignificant, inconsequential and unimportant lives."

        Cue obligatory "You read it so you must care diatribe...."....is it the weekend yet?

    3. Mark .

      Samsung sell loads more Android phones, so if we're comparing by company, I'd expect at least double the 10m a month from them. Not to mention all the other phones they sell that don't even get counted in the "smart" stats.

      I'm not sure the iphone 5 not being as new is an excuse - Samsung thrashed everyone else in Q1, even when their flagship was much older.

      I do love how, when one company sells more 2 days of the year, you trumpet that as being amazing, but when the other company sells more the rest of the 363 days of the year, you suggest it's unfair, as the first company's phone isn't new anymore...

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    oh dear, the standard of The Register reporting reaches new lows, with a headline in no way supported by the data (10 million in a month versus 5 million over a weekend is a hopeless comparison for so many reasons its ridiculous).

    "Samsung's Galaxy S4 has become the South Korean firm's fastest selling smartphone after shifting some 10 million units since its launch in April."

    So by *shifting* I expect you are hoping to justify the spurious headline by obscuring that Samsung only ever provides "sold to channel" figures, which includes pre-stocking by suppliers and is always going to be significantly higher than actual sales to end customers (by anything from 10 - 40%). Over time, sales to channel evens out. But certainly not at a product launch.

    1. Jah

      iPhone no longer compelling

      Samsung would not have sold 10 million if the iPhone 5 & 4s were competitive. That is what the sales figures really say. This trend will continue until Apple's next iPhone in September.

      1. JDX Gold badge

        Re: iPhone no longer compelling

        What rot. The market can support multiple top-end phones at once, not only one. When Ferrari bring out a stunning new model, Lamborghini don't go bankrupt.

        1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

          Re: iPhone no longer compelling

          When Ferrari bring out a stunning new model, Lamborghini don't go bankrupt.

          Ahem, Lamborghini did go bankrupt back in the 1970s. Now it's part of Volkswagen which has deep enough pockets to steer through any troubles and, more importantly, access to modern technology to stay competitive. This would make it similar to the phone division within Samsung and suggest further parallels about the market such as the advantages of having access to inhouse technology.

          1. Frankee Llonnygog

            Re: iPhone no longer compelling

            And Ferrari is owned by Fiat. Which just goes to show that analogies are just like buses - large, red and with seating for 70 people.

        2. oolor

          Re: iPhone no longer compelling

          "What rot. The market can support multiple top-end phones at once, not only one. When Ferrari bring out a stunning new model, Lamborghini don't go bankrupt."

          What rot. The market can support multiple top-end phones at once, not only one. When Ferrari bring out a stunning new model, Lamborghini sales don't take a dive.

          Fixed that for you. Now 1000% more heckler-proof.

      2. Frank Bough

        Re: iPhone no longer compelling

        The iPhone 5 is easily the best phone on the market. The GS4 is a grotesque parody.

  3. Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse
    Go

    "life companion for a richer, fuller, simpler life"

    Marketing hyper-bole-shit surely?

    Although I could say the same about Deborah, my luxury inflatable companion with vibrati... ahhh. I'll stop there.

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Trollface

      Re: "life companion for a richer, fuller, simpler life"

      So Ronery!

  4. Alex Walsh

    And yet most head to heads I've read seem to favour the HTC One over the S4.

    1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      The HTC One seems to please reviewers with its design and IPS screen. As Alun Taylor noted, Samsung have styled the S4 to look like an updated S3, and while they won't win awards for the design of either, this is pretty much what Apple does. The S3 has been the leading non-I-Phone for the last few months and is well-recognised. The "updates" in the S4 have been well publicised and I think that a great many punters prefer the sheer intensity of the colours on OLED screens. Many have argues that the I-Phone 5 didn't offer a lot to really encourage upgrade sales and total sales since launch give some credence to that argument: sales are still very strong but not perhaps as strong as they might have been.

    2. MrXavia

      If it wasn't for the lack of SD slot that is what I would have brought, and if the Experia Z had a decent screen I'd have brought that over the samsung (even with the non-replaceable battery)

      1. Vector

        "If it wasn't for the lack of SD slot..."

        That and no removable battery. I traded to an S4 from a Sensation, which served me very well. I wanted to like the HTC One, I really did, but in the end, expandable storage and a replaceable battery (along with the slightly faster processor) made the S4 more future-proof in my mind.

        1. DaddyHoggy

          HTC One or S4...

          I have a Samsung phone, my wife a HTC.

          She had a long hard look at the S4 for the reasons you say (lack of SD card and removable battery on the HTC One) but, having looked at the way she has used her Desire S for last 2yrs and how well she got on with her Sense GUI she went with the HTC One. (which she absolutely adores and the battery does last a full day of "proper" use, thus for her, negating the removable battery issue). I of course want an S4 when I'm due my upgrade!

  5. D@v3

    not sure i see what Apple has to 'fear'

    "37.4 million in sales of all iPhone models over three months"

    Considering that will have been made of mostly, 1 handset, maybe a couple of million 4s's (i cant imagine many 3g's, 3gs's 4's are still being sold) that's over 10m a month.

    Take into consideration that that's in its Last quarter, when it didn't have any New handsets on the market, and many people who might be wanting an iPhone may well be waiting another month or 2 for the next one. I think they have very little to worry about at all, for now at least.

    When the 5s launches to less that 10m in the first month, then yes, Apple may have cause for concern.

    1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Re: not sure i see what Apple has to 'fear'

      Apple has slower growth and declining margins to fear which is why it mentioned them in its last quarterly report. Take all Samsung's Galaxy phones into consideration and the trend definitely favours Samsung.

      1. D@v3

        Re: not sure i see what Apple has to 'fear'

        indeed. Taking into account the massive amounts of different handsets that Samsung offer, I would expect them to be doing at least a little bit better, than their (closest?) competitor, who has 1 'current' handset on the market.

        I stand by what I said. Considering Apple have 1, maybe 3 if we are being really generous handsets on the market, and are still able to knock out 35m+ sales in a quarter in which they both didn't have a big release, and are also (most probably) approaching a big release.

        I feel that when things start looking bleak for Apple, we will suddenly see this long rumoured cut price iphone on the shelves, and maybe even a third slightly larger sized model to go up against the Note series. They have the options, there must be a reason why their handset portfolio has stayed pretty static since release of the original iPhone.

        1. Charlie Clark Silver badge
          FAIL

          Re: not sure i see what Apple has to 'fear'

          indeed. Taking into account the massive amounts of different handsets that Samsung offer, I would expect them to be doing at least a little bit better, than their (closest?) competitor, who has 1 'current' handset on the market.

          Please be logically consistent. "Indeed" indicates agreement with the previous comments: firstly, that Apple something to fear (lower growth and lower margins) and that the 37 million sales include a lot of 4's and 4S'. If so, you cannot stand by what you said.

          None of this means that things are about to start looking bleak for Apple. It still creams most of the profits out of all sales because it provides a compelling offer of hardware and software and, with the I-pod has demonstrated it came remain competitive even in a cut-throat market. It may just be coming down to earth and really ought to do something about new models.

        2. The lone lurker
          Meh

          Re: not sure i see what Apple has to 'fear' @D@v3

          Something similar to what you are suggesting happened with their computer ranges back in the 90's. Apple ended up with this bewildering array of models each trying to target a certain part of the market and it nearly destroyed them.

          It was only the return of Steve Jobs and his consolidation of the product lines that pulled them out of the tailspin. This time round it's unlikely he's going to be able do the same.

    2. Darryl

      Re: not sure i see what Apple has to 'fear'

      On the contrary, I'd imagine a lot of 4's are still being 'sold' - In the US and Canada (at least) they're 'free' on a 2 year contract, which I'm sure pushes more than a few out the door.

      1. Charles 9

        Re: not sure i see what Apple has to 'fear'

        T-Mobile is a major carrier, one of the first to sell the S4, and it doesn't do contracts directly. They use hire-purchase (installments) to lower the sticker shock. Walmart also sells the T-Mobile version of the phone, and its phone plan is contract-free post-paid, so it sells all its phones at face value.

  6. Khaptain Silver badge

    Fanboi Mania - difficult to understand, from either camp

    Something I have never really understood is why anyone, other then business, even care about how many phones were sold by Apple, Samsung or Nokia.

    I, personally, find it a little bit off-putting knowing that I currently possess the 1st, 2nd or 3rd best selling phone on the market. Kind of makes me feel like a brainless sheep.....

    Why are the premises that leave people being "proud" that they have the same phone as 50 Million other people ?

    1. Khaptain Silver badge

      Re: Fanboi Mania - difficult to understand, from either camp

      Oops that should have been :

      What are the premises ( instead of why)..... I was too late to hit the edit button..

    2. Mike G

      Re: Fanboi Mania - difficult to understand, from either camp

      Agreed. It's hilarious the hypocrisy of apparently being part of an elite that 'thinks different' yet then crying like a scalded baby when anybody suggests their phone isn't the best seller.

      1. Fink-Nottle
        Happy

        Think Different

        Anyone who uses the idiom 'cries like a scalded baby' - and, no doubt, 'run around like a headless cat' - definitely 'thinks different'.

        1. sabroni Silver badge

          Re: run around like a headless cat

          it's chickens that supposedly run around without heads.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: run around like a headless cat

            We used to slaughter our own chickens for the stew pot. After axing off their heads, chickens do indeed run around headless for a bit ...

    3. Joseph Lord

      Re: Fanboi Mania - difficult to understand, from either camp

      More devices sold means more developer attention and therefore more apps for the platform. So there is some benefit to customers in being on a popular platform. Also the sustainability and long term life of the platform (and linked app and content purchases) also depends on ongoing sales of devices although this isn't really an issue for iOS or Android at the moment it is a question mark over Blackberry and Microsoft still (and Meego, FirefoxOS, Tizen etc. to an even greater degree).

    4. Greg J Preece

      Re: Fanboi Mania - difficult to understand, from either camp

      I, personally, find it a little bit off-putting knowing that I currently possess the 1st, 2nd or 3rd best selling phone on the market. Kind of makes me feel like a brainless sheep.....

      Ah, so you're a hipster. :-p

      I get your point though, and I do agree. I always buy whatever hardware I think is best, and sod the brand. If some fanboy then wants to tell me why I'm wrong, I can justify the purchase with something demonstrable, rather than just saying "nu uh, mine's cooler."

      Sure, my current phone is Android, but I bought that one because it's supposed to be getting Ubuntu....at some point. And I really wanted an evolved N900, but keyboards and a low-level OS are apparently now illegal or something. Buy whatever you think is best for you.

      That said, if you then turn around as a fanboy and say extremely stupid things to me (like the person last night who tried to tell me that smartphones didn't exist before the iPhone), then I'm going to call you on your crap. ;-)

  7. Shagbag
    FAIL

    They're all at it

    Apple restricts supply and then says "hey, we've sold out".

    Microsoft announces "100m Win8 licenses sold" when the real figure is closer to 60% of that.

    Now Samsung says they've "sold 10m units in a month".

    It's all a load of bollocks.

    Samsung fail. Apple fail. And, of course, ....

    MICROSOFT FAIL!

    1. elderlybloke

      Re: They're all at it

      Where can I go to confirm your statement which says "bollocks" about Samsung selling.. 10M units in a month.

      Not in the market for this type of product now and maybe not in the future.

      1. Shagbag

        /dev/null

  8. AMCMO

    Cored - Far from it, you've been sucked in

    Seems you've been sucked in like many in the press.

    I don't give a rats abut who sells half a million phones more than whom, however.

    Samsung SHIPPED 10M in 1 month to distributors and retail. That DOES NOT equate to SOLD.

    Apple's figures for 3 days were 5M SOLD. Their quarterly figures show they are selling roughly on par to Samsung's shipping.

    For all of Samsung's many 10's of millions more spent in marketing, their flagship phone is far from defeating Apple.

    Samsung and Apple own the mobile phone market between them, however telling point, Samsung make less profit from 20 times as many models....

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ???

    Why would Apple be afraid?. It SOLD 5 mill in a weekend and Samsung put 10 Mil in one month in the inventory.

    Me thinks Apple is still on top.

  10. ABapple

    samsung-apple-nokla

    Apple's strength lies in range of smoothly working apps and consistent. OS and firmware support. I have a Nokia 71 and a Asus Nexus 7 tablet. Regardless of hardware my next phone will be an Apple pretty much regardless of moderate hardware differences.

  11. Trustme
    Pint

    New reg reference..

    I vote for a new Reg term to define Samsung fans:

    "Samdroid"

    Of which, it seems, I am one.

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