iPhone 5 vs. Galaxy S4: Samsung Android Flagship Has More Universal Appeal but the iOS Smartphone Sells at Faster Rate
Apple has yet to determine the 2013 release date for the iPhone 5S, which leaves the 10-month old iPhone 5 to tussle with Samsung's Galaxy S4. The battle, so far, appears on stalemate status.
Drum beats coming from both firms suggest one is edging out the other yet in many ways, the two upscale gadgets are in equal footing with the GS4 flashing a number of pluses while the iPhone 5 seems to winning where the battle really matters - which one rings the cash register faster and a little longer.
The GS4 is more understanding of human needs
The latest Apple-Samsung skirmish was depicted in a new GS4 campaign ad, which portrays the Samsung Android device, on Jelly Bean 4.2.2, as the one smartphone that understands distinct human needs, regardless of culture and language.
A YouTube commercial of the GS4 claims that the handset has wider language support, making it easier for users around the world to perform key tasks guided by the phone's voice-controlled digital assistant.
By configuring its latest high-end smartphone to understand the Icelandic language, as sampled in the new advertisement, Samsung insists that smartphone users from anywhere around the world should "get a phone that understands you."
It hinted too that Siri, even with the purported improvements to come with the iPhone 5S and iOS 7, is largely disconnected with other languages save for English.
Apple romps away with faster iPhone 5 selling rate
Apple has yet to tackle the fresh Samsung insinuation though the sales figures attached with the tech giant's outgoing flagship seem to suggest that there is no need to play the South Korean game.
While it could be true that Samsung has successfully pushed out 20 million GS4s in three months, it is the iPhone 5 that flies off the shelves in record time, according to reports by Apple Insider.
Citing data from ISI Group, the same report revealed that more 800,000 iPhone 5 units were snapped out by global consumers each day in the first 25 days that the iOS device became available last year.
In comparison, the GS4 averaged only some 333,000 units per day, which took the Android phone around 90 days to wrap up the 20 million sales milestone. Apple, on the other hand, shifted the same number of handsets in less than a month.
The same report, however, noted that Apple did not breakdown its iPhones sales in the period, leaving questions whether the iPhone 5 surge was aided by the consumers' sustained interest on previous models like the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S.