
The honeymoon is already over for Samsung's Galaxy S4 with one leading analyst, who deems the new flagship smartphone "inferior" to Apple's current-generation iPhone 5.
Analyst Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets said Friday that the Galaxy S4 is "less refined" than the iPhone 5 and should not be viewed or promoted as a proverbial "game changer." While admitting that the S4 is an improvement over the S3, White expects Apple's forthcoming iPhone 5S to "handily outsell" the refreshed Samsung device.
"We are amazed by how analysts and the media have turned on Apple during the recent stock downdrafts with statements that Samsung is 'out-innovating' Apple," White observed this morning. "One would believe that Samsung is crushing Apple in the mobile phone market. We believe this is complete nonsense."
Despite confessing that the S4 has a pixel density of 441 per inch (which is superior to the screen resolution of the iPhone 5's display), White says the S4 is "heavier" and "fatter" than the iPhone 5. He also derides the S4's plastic casing, saying it's "no match" for the iPhone 5's aluminum unibody enclosure.
Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray largely appears to be on the same page as White.
"While the S4 is likely to be the iPhone's biggest competitor this year at the high-end of the market, we remain confident in our iPhone estimate for this year of 177.5 million, which includes a cheaper phone in the September quarter," Munster says. "We view the S4 as unlikely to meaningfully impact iPhone share of the high-end over the full year, but do expect it to take share from other Android phones."
Sources: Fortune, BGR
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