Samsung Galaxy S4 launch aimed to eat into Apple’s market share

The much-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S4, release date of which is set on April 26 across 155 countries, has already been given a thumbs down by investors, sending Samsung stocks plunging by 2.63% in Seoul on Friday. Samsung Galaxy S4, which launched today, comes with a bigger screen and software that tracks eye movements. With a 5-inch screen, 13-megapixel camera and motion-detection technology that lets users control features with face movements, Galaxy S4 release was expected to increase the anticipation among public, in turn resulting in sky-rocketing shares. But shares of Samsung tumbled as investors did not warm up to the latest offering from Samsung. The Galaxy S4 will be sold into a $358bn (£236.7bn) global market that is approaching saturation.

Analysts from Seoul opined that Galaxy S4 release was already factored in and the investors were concerned the share price had hit a ceiling. Reasoning the fall in Samsung shares, Bae Seung-Young of Hyundai Securities was quoted as saying, “It’s not because the Galaxy S4 failed to meet expectations. It’s just that investors feel technical smartphone upgrades are flattening out.” Kang Hyun-Chul of Woori Securities said foreign investors had dumped Samsung to lock on gains, adding IT companies tended to adjust downward following the release of new products. Samsung share price was steady this year while rival Apple’s shares tumbled down 20% with disappointing sales of the iPhone contributing to the continued fall.

News of Samsung’s falling shares comes at a time when the tech giant has captured 29% of the smartphone market in 2012, as compared to Apple’s 21.8%, and 23% of the overall mobile phone market, ahead of Nokia’s 17.9%. Apple’s sales growth last quarter was the slowest in more than two years, indicating that the iPhone craze has waned over other smartphones, according to Park Hyun, an analyst at Tong Yang Securities in Seoul. The analyst doesn’t expect a new iPhone until mid-year at the earliest. Since the iPhone’s debut in 2007, Apple has held one big phone unveiling a year, with the new product hitting the market in summer or fall.