Apple iPhone 5S
A woman holds her new Apple iPhone 5S after buying it at an Apple Store in Tokyo Reuters

Apple ramps up its iPhone 6 production sending partner suppliers and companies like Foxconn on a hiring spree. Foxconn has reportedly started its hiring process targeting 100,000 new works. Pegatron is also on a hiring surge to support iPhone 6 production in time for the release. The approaching launch not only draws market hype but it has also been driving competition like launches of Amazon's smartphone and Samsung Galaxy S5 Prime series.

According to Taiwanese Economic Daily (via 9to5mac), the hiring spree is common among companies like Foxconn especially when starting iPhone 6 production but the target number this time is a new high for the firm. Foxconn will be in charge of 70% of the iPhone 6 units according to the report. Recently leaked photos of the upcoming flagship suggest that Apple will push for the 5.5-inch or phablet version including an LCD display. Business Insider notes that predictions about the bigger screen iPhone remain positive with analysts saying that consumer demand will be a new record high for the tech giant.

Nonetheless, Apple cannot just smooth sail its way to greater market share without competition arising. Amazon just released its smartphone threatening big players like Apple and Samsung while Samsung plans on releasing a new high end line threatening to target Apple's sector more aggressively.

Amazon and Its Threat to Apple and Samsung

Amazon's Fire smartphone did not enter the market with a bang but it is a formidable contender upon closer look. According to Forbes, the tech/smartphone market has revolved around Apple and Samsung that similar players like Microsoft and Blackberry are often forgotten. Despite Google and Motorola's attempts, it appears the market is not as interested for a new smartphone player. What makes Amazon different? It is not about competing directly with the two giants. Amazon's eyes have been on retail.

The company is best known for investing on excellent but practical user and shopping experience - nothing unnecessary but everything useful. An Amazon smartphone can put shopping right on a consumer's palm which may be a game changer for retail. The Amazon Fire smartphone may not be "specs-travagant" but it does offer a way to control the retail market. According to analysts, the smartphone will gain value over time similar to other Amazon products.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Prime

Samsung just released another Galaxy S5 variant in South Korea. In another report by Forbes, the Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE-A variant blows out the flagship easily in terms of specs. The latest edition features a QHD display offering 2560 x 1440 pixels competing directly against LG G3. The device features a 5.1-inch screen offering 577ppi for pixel density - the highest so far in the market. What is even more interesting is that it runs on Qualcomm's 805 which is another first. This brings the phone's specs from the standard 2.45GHz quad-core Krait 400 processor to 2.7GHz quad-core Krait 450. Samsung also enhanced the graphics performance switching from 578MHz Adreno 330 in the Snapdragon 801 to the 718MHz Adreno 420 in the 805. This delivers a graphics quality similar with PlayStation 3.

Many analysts believe this is a prelude to the Galaxy S5 Primes series. Notorious tipseter @evleaks has revealed several photos of the S5 Prime/Galaxy F in perfect gold and glowing gold hues leading many to believe strongly of the series release. Apple and Samsung's products have always competed strongly in the market. With Apple following a similar strategy to Samsung releasing several variants of its flagship and Samsung targeting more of the high end sector - more of Apple's turf- the two companies will find latter part of the year a stiff period.