KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has an enviable success rate in predicting Apple's technologies beforehand the official launches, has published another investor note this weekend and reportedly it's more about Samsung and its upcoming flagship model Galaxy S8 along with a couple of tidbits here and there about Apple.
Kuo believes that Samsung will see weaker demand this year that that of the previous year. According to his report, one reason for this is that the company had essentially released a single flagship device because of the Galaxy Note 7 disaster. The other reason is that Samsung will face increased competition this year from Apple, as the tech giant will launch their 10th year anniversary model of iPhone shortly after the launch of Galaxy S8 by Samsung.
"We are conservative on demand for Galaxy S8, and believe its contribution to the supply chain will be limited. Instead we recommend focusing on the sales outlook and supply chain momentum of Apple's (US) OLED iPhone model."
Also, Kuo noted that Galaxy S8 lacks "sufficient attractive selling points", which would make the upcoming new OLED iPhone a "bigger draw for consumers" this year than the iPhone 7 and Iphone 7 Plus last year.
Here is Kuo's explanation:
"We project Galaxy S8 shipments of 40-45mn units in 2017F, implying slower momentum compared to Galaxy S7 in 2016 (around 52mn units shipped), attributable to:
(1) A one-month difference in comparable sales period;
(2) Galaxy S7 was Samsung's main promotional flagship model in 4Q16 after termination of Galaxy Note 7 due to the battery explosion issue, hence the higher sales base;
(3) As Galaxy S8 lacks sufficiently attractive selling points (except full-screen design), the OLED iPhone could well be a bigger draw for consumers."
Although we have seen many similarities between the speculated features and leaked images of iPhone 8 and Samsung Galaxy S8, Kuo thinks the similarities will not have any impact on the success of iPhone 8 but it might rather have a negative impact on the Galaxy S8.
Adding to that Kuo has also outlined other details about the iPhone 8, such as OLED display, wireless charging, new glass design etc.
