Confidence is high that Samsung's Galaxy S7 and Apple's iPhone 5SE are going to be revealed in quick succession and go on sale in March this year. The South Korean company that sold the most smartphones last year will be going toe-to-toe with the biggest brand name on the planet. Apple and Samsung will still be standing when the dust settles, but the potential to damage a major rival is on offer to both companies. Let's get ready to rumble!
It's not the first time that Samsung and Apple have launched handsets in close proximity. Apple's yearly cycle on the main iPhone line generally offers an early September announcement and a late September retail release for a new iPhone. That would be the same timeframe as the Berlin IFA show where Samsung traditionally unveiled the latest Galaxy Note phablet, which would be announced ahead of an October retail release.
That's close, but not quite a royal rumble The Galaxy Note range effectively created the phablet market with larger screened smartphones while Apple resolutely stayed at the smaller screen sizes and resolutions. 2014 saw Cupertino go after the phablet market with the heavily trailed iPhone 6 Plus, but there was still a month-long gap between the competing devices reaching the shelves in significant numbers.
Now the stakes are higher for Samsung. The Galaxy Note range has a strong and loyal following and is a popular seller, but it's not the South Korean's flagship. For 2016 that would be the Galaxy S7, and a lot is being asked of Samsung's latest smartphone. It needs to reverse the trend of falling revenue and profits in Samsung's mobile division, it needs to attract more customers to buy a higher-priced device (as opposed to 'good enough' mid range devices like the Galaxy A9) and it needs to push Samsung forward as an innovative player in the smartphone market that can come up with new ideas and have the public buy into them.
The appearance of the iPhone 5SE in the week where the Galaxy S7 is expected to go on sale in the US is going to hit the online marketing and social media campaigns. No doubt the speculation in the run up to the reveal of the iPhone 5SE will impact on the coverage and 'first reviews' of the Galaxy S7 family of devices, diluting the impact of the content as it fights to be seen in the digital column inches.
Apple has a chance to run the iPhone 5SE against the Galaxy S7 as the ultimate spoiler.
Apple doesn't have it easy though. The iPhone 5SE is not a flagship handset... it's an update to the older iPhone 5S. It will leverage the same components as the iPhone 6 family to keep the costs down on the 'lowest tier' iPhone, and Apple's PR team has got to work hard to pitch the iPhone 5SE into the correct space. The 5SE echoes the iPhone 5C which was wrongly seen by many as the budget iPhone when it was launched. While it sold well it never picked up the critical acclaim that it should have received.
Cupertino has struggled to cleanly tell the stories of many recent products - the Smart Battery Case, the Apple Watch, the iPad Pro and Apple TV spring to mind. It has to perform a tricky balancing act to get over the iPhone 5SE as a new handset, a lowered priced smartphone, but not a 'budget' model that would damage 'brand iPhone'.
Samsung could easily swamp the iPhone 5SE with the Galaxy S7 marketing and sales numbers. With the idea of 'peak iPhone' becoming entrenched thanks to the recent quarterly report, a weak outing for the iPhone 5SE could damage the perception of the all-conquering iPhone... leaving Samsung the space and potential to sell the Galaxy S7 in the volumes needed to accelerate the mobile division's recovery.
Next: Who needs to do what to come out on top?
This is the first time in many years that Samsung can get 'ahead' of Apple in the competitive smartphone environment. The Galaxy S7 is the high-powered flagship, it has far more technical might, and should be a stronger seller than the iPhone 5SE. Samsung could inflict some noticeable damage on the iPhone brand which would stand it in good stead when the Galaxy Note 6 comes along in the Autumn to challenge the iPhone 7.
On the other side, a strong showing from Apple could lower sales of the Galaxy S7 and force Samsung to rely on its mid-range devices for revenue. That would mean resources would have to be diverted away from R&D to sell more phones with lower margins just to keep the finances in balance. A weaker Samsung means Apple has more opportunity to shape the market to suit its own vision of smartphones, helping the iPhone 7 when it launches in September.
There's not going to be a knock-out blow with the 5SE or the S7, but there's going to be blood on the floor. Who's your money on?
(Now read about Apple's upsetting choice behind the 'free' iPhone 5SE).
