Samsung preps iPhone 6 killer for August release, sources say

“Samsung is planning to launch a new, high-end smartphone next month that will be designed to take on the iPhone 6,” Don Reisinger reports for CNET.

“Over the weekend, Korean publication ETNews reported that Samsung is working on a device known as the Galaxy Alpha that it plans to launch in August,” Reisinger reports. “Samsung wants to get the handset out to store shelves before Apple has a chance to announce the rumored iPhone 6, the report said, citing sources who claim to have knowledge of the situation.”

MacDailyNews Take: So they can rope in a few more clueless suckers before Apple unveils the world’s next flagship smartphone.

“For months, reports have been swirling, suggesting Samsung is working on a higher-end smartphone than its flagship Galaxy S5, which only just launched in April, that will sport a metal chassis and come with several additional features to make it feel higher-end,” Reisinger reports. “According to the ETNews source, the Galaxy Alpha will be a mix between the Galaxy S5 and Samsung’s phablet, the Galaxy Note.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: “To make it feel higher-end.” Not to be higher-end.

“High-end” for Samsung is third rate for Apple.

There is one only “high-end” smartphone in the world. All of the rest are lower-class wannabes.

cellphones before and after Apple iPhone

34 Comments

  1. No no, Samsung! You’ve got your order of doing things all mixed up – you’re supposed to wait & SEE what Apple releases, then copy as best you can, then release your new device.

    1. The loser in all this… Samsung S5 purchasers…

      oh, and all the back inventory of S5 in warehouses of retailers as well as carriers…

      here comes the BOGO deal again… marketshare… at a cost

    1. I was wondering if the rumor of Samsung rushing out a new phone was a reaction to the (disappointment in the) Galaxy S5, rather than it trying to “kill” something that hasn’t even been released yet.

    2. If I spent $1299 for the S5 (it’s that much here), I would be an idiot. So, I wouldn’t know how to feel about this new galaxy. But today the major carriers here are offering it for $0.00 (free with 2 year contract).

      I feel sorry for the suckers that bought yesterday.

  2. I’m sure there will consumers (smartphone geeks) ready to buy it but it definitely won’t significantly boost overall sales and it will probably alienate consumers who just bought a new S5 a few short months ago. Choice is one thing but Samsung is piling choices on like Nokia did a number of years back. Too much variety only confuses consumers and eventually they’ll simply choose another brand.

    I’m still amazed at how Samsung can implement design after design every couple of months and never seem to have any production problems. Apple puts out one smartphone and you’ve got analysts claiming there are major production problems that will delay the product. It doesn’t make any sense to me unless it’s due to Apple’s higher quality standards.

    1. – Phones with plastic cases and lower tolerances are much easier to crank out.

      – Apple’s production “problems” typically means temporarily they can only produce millions instead of several tens of millions. For almost anybody else the only problem with producing millions is that they’d have more than they could sell.

      – How do you know Samsung never has production problems? It’s such a game of musical chairs that nobody but Samsung knows what was attempted vs. what was produced. And nobody cares about it in the way they care about every nuance of what Apple does or doesn’t do, or even was rumored to do.

    2. Samsung doesn’t have production issues simply because they never sell many of one model. Their ramp up is never as extensive as the iPhone for that reason.
      The downside of having dozens of models is that the inventory is huge. Samsung had months of inventory in the channel which is exacerbated by releasing new models every 3-6 months.
      Samsung’s MO is to make multiple models and release frequently because it is easier than them thinking about what customers really need. It’s the see what sticks approach and most companies work that way.

    3. “I’m still amazed at how Samsung can implement design after design every couple of months and never seem to have any production problems.”

      That’s because Samsung don’t actually sell in the sort of numbers that they claim to be shipping. Whatever number that they can build and shift is loudly trumpeted as the best ever, but several months later it’s possible to see that sales numbers were greatly inflated.

      If Samsung were really selling as many phones as they pretend to be doing, they would be reporting much bigger profits than they do. As it is, Samsung’s profits are falling sharply, while their marketing costs are increasing. They are facing increased competition at the low end, while Apple sets a very high standard at the upper end. The long term outlook for Samsung doesn’t look too rosy.

    4. Or perhaps Scamslum’s LOWER quality standards . . . and let’s not forget their lower ethical standards when it comes to all that tiresome expensive R&D nonsense : let others pay for it, then churn out crappy knock-offs.

  3. Galaxy S “This time we’re serious”
    S2 “No really, we’re serious”
    S3 “Now we’re serious”
    S4 “this time, we mean it, we’re serious”
    S5 “5 is bigger than 4, therefore we’re more serious”
    S5 Alpha “The Alpha now means we’re really serious”

  4. I saw something interesting today. I just relocated to Raleigh NC From New Jersey. I went into a Walmart to buy a case fro my new Company iPhone 5S . Went to the Electronics section and all you could see was Samsung products. All their tablets and Phones on display right up front. Apple products you actually had to look for. They were there but hidden in the back. In this store it looks Samsung paying for placement like Coke. Is this a lower income area so Walmart feels that Samsung deserves to be up front??? It is obviously setup to separate Samsung from Apple and make Apple look like a second rate player.

  5. I’m confused as to what SamDung model is what …… At least with iPhone I know what I have …..

    PS …. Nice to see the 4S still has plenty of buyers per May 2014 sales report …. Number six selling phone with 5S number one, of course and the 5C weighing in at number five ….. When Apple releases the 4.7 inch model look for Apple to have top four or five spots!

  6. It’s amazing how Apple works on a new product for a year and Samsung can announce a new product in a month. Just shows you how little Samsung thinks about the details compared to Apple. They’ll slap on a cheap metal casing and call there’s high end with screws that you can see from the outside like there crappy dumb watch gear.

  7. Whomever introduced the term ‘iPhone-killer’ needs to be retired with the term because as far as I can tell no phone has yet lived up to the mantle.

    And I get the feeling that that isn’t going to change anytime soon because Apple is doing what no one else has done before, which is future-proofing their products with unique features that no one else can emulate.

    For instance, their Sapphire display technology. Corning will always be in the game, but there’s something alluring that adds value with sapphire that you don’t get with Gorilla Glass (even if it’s comes close to performing as well as sapphire-glass.

    Touch ID. It’s been imitated, but no one has managed to make it work as successfully as Apple has. In fact, I want an iPad Air primarily for TouchID, and coupled with the ability to be expanded to even more applications, it will only become a more powerful feature.

    And that’s not even talking about whatever Apple may be planning in future.

  8. Ah yes. The Samsung Alpha will be the iPhone 6 killer. Sure it will, just like the Galaxy S5 was the iPhone 5S killer! Hell, it wasn’t even an iPhone 5C killer!

    The Galaxy S5 was advertised in some areas as a “buy-one-get-one-free” phone even before they were officially on sale. Those “sales” are still ongoing in order to get people to take them. And, still it sold relatively poorly.

    Any bets as to whether they’ll have to do the same thing with the Alpha?

  9. Original Headline from CNET: “Samsung readies Galaxy Alpha for war with iPhone 6 — report”

    Headline from MDN: “Samsung preps iPhone 6 killer for August release, sources say”

    Wow, what a fetish for war and hate, you sure are earning your Amurderca moniker.

    Must be tough over there, itching for a war and so many conflicts to choose from too, but none you are invited to really.

    Now killing an inanimate object is one thing, killing an inanimate object that hasn’t even been released, that’s a bit like doing an abortion, at least in my opinion. I wonder if you’d limit it to that, or go for the mother as well as that would be another kill.

    All right MDN, another killer comment for your karma, the hurricane is coming, I’d tell you to brace yourselves but I doubt you’d listen to reason at this stage of the game.

    Still…..

  10. With a ‘new’ rebranded Galaxy phone released every 2 weeks, the Galaxy brand name has become totally diluted. This new Galaxy Alpha phone will generate absolutely zero excitement.

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