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AP Photo/Manu Fernandez

Samsung is going to lower the price of its phones to compete with the iPhone

The company is considering adjusting the price for the S6 and S6 Edge after sales disappoint.

SAMSUNG IS CONSIDERING adjusting the prices of both the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge after less than impressive sales contributed to a slump in its smartphone earnings.

The company posted a fall of 8% in its second quarter and promised “flexible” pricing of its new flagship smartphone “depending on marketing circumstances” while launching new devices.

Despite a positive reception, the Galaxy S6 was hit by two problems. The first was it underestimated the demand for the S6 Edge, a device that features curved screens on both sides, which production and supply wasn’t able to match. On the other hand, the standard Galaxy S6 didn’t do as well as expected.

Samsung says the second half of 2015 will be challenging for the company. Not only does it have to compete against cheaper high-end smartphones from the likes of Xiaomi, Motorola and OnePlus, it will also have to fend off Apple which will announce the latest additions to its iPhone range in September.

The second half of Samsung’s year will begin with an Galaxy Unpacked event on 13th August, where it’s likely to announce the latest addition to the Galaxy Note as well as a larger S6 Edge.

The world’s largest smartphone maker said net profit for the April-June period stood at 5.75 trillion won (€4.5 billion), down from 6.25 trillion won a year ago and slightly below analyst estimates.

In an effort to see off smaller rivals nipping at its heels in emerging markets, Samsung slimmed down its line of low- and mid-range smartphones last year, and ramped up production of those that remained in a higher-volume, lower-price strategy.

At the same time, booming memory chip sales have managed to mitigate some of the slump elsewhere, thanks to tight supply and strong pricing.

(Additional reporting from AFP)

Read: This boss sold his company for a fortune – then gave his staff over €200,000 each >

Read: Two TRILLION posts and €3.6 BILLION: Facebook, in numbers >

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43 Comments
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    Mute Dave Meagher
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:16 AM

    They have to compete with HTC and the rest as well. Removing SD storage cost them dearly. I rarely get the same phone 2 years running but I have with HTC due to the ability to add up to a 128GB SD card .

    145
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    Mute Uncle Monty
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:20 AM

    Likewise. I’m going to hang on to the M8 as I like the phone and picked up a 64gb SD card for small money recently…

    75
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    Mute Alan Corlett
    Favourite Alan Corlett
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:29 AM

    My Motorola Moto E let’s me put a 32gb SD card in, will only let me save photos though, piece of crp won’t be getting Motorola again.

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    Mute Dave Meagher
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:38 AM

    Uncle monty
    I only changed to the M9 because my contract gives me a new phone every 12 mths but I must hand back the old one. The build quality and feel of the HTC’s are top drawer , it a shame to have it in a case.. The sound was a selling point for me as well but most important overall it’s a very good phone with no real negatives bar one small thing, the M8 gave a free silicon case last year and the m9 didn’t , just came across as a tad mean from HTC.

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    Mute Guy Incognito
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:43 AM

    Alan: that’s an Android thing, nothing to do with the moto. You’re running out of space because you’re using a budget model with a mere 8GB device storage, nothing to do with Motorola.

    41
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    Mute Uncle Monty
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    Jul 30th 2015, 12:05 PM

    I thought the same, didn’t want to cover the sexy looking gold beast of a yoke either. Kind of regretted it a few months later though after I left it hop off the floor numerous times. now it’s covered to hide the dents!

    25
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    Mute Niall O'Neill
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    Jul 30th 2015, 12:19 PM

    That’s a shit reason to stick with a phone

    8
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    Mute Alan Corlett
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    Jul 30th 2015, 12:21 PM

    Thanks Guy, but surly I’m running out of space because it won’t allow access to the SD card that it’s designed to take, never had the problem with the Samsung mini S3 (the battery let that down though).

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    Mute Dave Meagher
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    Jul 30th 2015, 12:57 PM

    Niall O’Neill

    A good phone is a shit reason to stick with a phone or the storage or what?? You would be very surprised how many millions of m9′s sold due to the SD card slot over an iphone and samsung.

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    Mute Guy Incognito
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    Jul 30th 2015, 3:08 PM

    Alan: newer versions of Android will only let you put media files on the SD card, any new phone you get will do the same. THe solution is to make sure your phone has enough built in storage to begin with

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    Mute Alan Corlett
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    Jul 31st 2015, 12:25 AM

    Thanks Guy, although that’s a shit idea by the phone makers, I always kept my word documents etc on the SD card as it was more beneficial for me

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    Mute SleazyDragon
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:23 AM

    S6 Edge was ridiculous money. And with a 2 year contract too? No thanks. If you are on a 50 euro 24 month contract, your phone should be free.

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    Mute Guy Incognito
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:49 AM

    If you’re on a 50 euro 24 month contract you shouldn’t be allowed a phone because you’re clearly not clever enough to handle plugging things in

    24
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    Mute Alan White
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    Jul 30th 2015, 12:42 PM

    Guy, can you elaborate please? I genuinely don’t follow what you mean

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    Mute SleazyDragon
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    Jul 30th 2015, 1:21 PM

    @Guy: What you say is true as it currently stands, as operators want you to pay for the phone up front and then charge you an amount each month for the phone also.

    I would have no problem paying 50 euro a month if the phone was free and the contract was 18 months, but since it’s not the case, I’ll be shopping around when I finish my current contract and see what is available at the time. Maybe the commodore phone for some Last Ninja and Turrican fun.

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    Mute Alan
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:11 AM

    They have to compete with OnePlus and their offerings coming in at less than €400. And other players from the Chinese market who offer top spec for less.

    75
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    Mute Fozz
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:18 AM

    Yep, just look on Oppomart for some very nice Android alternatives.
    I own an S4 now but my next handset will be a cheaper and better alternative.

    38
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    Mute Gemma Shah
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:40 AM

    I have a Lenovo K3 note that I absolutely love.

    My only complaint is that the firmware language is Chinese which can’t be changed.

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    Mute Guy Incognito
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:41 AM

    Most consumers haven’t heard of OnePlus, Oppo or many of the other CHines brands. I still remember grabbing a HTC and people sniffing because they’d never heard of them! Let’s face it, a huge majority of people here (and in the US and UK) get phones on contract so they’re basically getting either a Sony, Samsung, HTC or iPhone, whatever the latest one from each of those manufacturers is. Based on that Samsung isn’t really competing with the Chinese brands apart from in certain markets.

    19
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    Mute Conor Heffernan
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    Jul 30th 2015, 12:25 PM

    their biggest problem is that since the s3 the phones really haven’t changed dramatically other than better battery life. why would you pay 600 quid for something that is only slightly better than its predecessor.

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    Mute Darren O Siadhail
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    Jul 30th 2015, 3:14 PM

    so would you recommend a OnePlus or zte? I like the look of both. have an iPhone 4 that’s smashed dropped in toilet dropped dunno how many times and still works. I’m on sim free plan with 3 25 a month. best thing ever but lookin at these other brands there seems just better options.

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    Mute Paddy
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    Jul 30th 2015, 5:55 PM

    I just changed my iPhone 4 last month for an iPhone 5s. Unbelievable how much quicker the new one is. I like to stay a bit behind the times because you get a better deal. I don’t really like the look of the iPhone 6 anyway tbh.

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    Mute Will Bourke
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    Jul 30th 2015, 9:45 PM

    iPhone user for years, gambled on OnePlus, and don’t regret it in the least. far better phone & freedom to install what I want when I want. better battery life. going to get OnePlus two next

    3
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    Mute Morgan Freeman
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:34 AM

    Just moved from contract to prepay because of the prices. If you want the S6 it can cost you €1499 over 2 years. Not only is it a crazy prize but you’re locked into the same phone for way too long. I now pay €20 a month and just bought a decent unlocked phone for €350. I can upgrade my phone 3 times in the 2 years and still save money compared to having the S6 for a 2 year contract.

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    Mute Guy Incognito
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:51 AM

    I’m the same. 20 quid monthly bill, bought a phone outright and will do so again when the time comes. I hate being locked into anything, especially when it’s worse value.

    40
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    Mute Morgan Freeman
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:57 AM

    There’s also no major benefits to being on a contract. In another era you were rewarded for loyalty with discounts on renewal. Right now it is verging on a scam.

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    Mute Darragh Flynn
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    Jul 30th 2015, 12:25 PM

    I’m with you guy. I always bought Nexus phones because of their high quality and cheap price, but the Nexus 6 went too expensive so I went for a One Plus One. I’m on Three Prepay and get unlimited 3 to 3 calls (which now includes o2 folk) and unlimited 4g for 20€ a month and can cancel anytime. Its the way to be. I don’t think I’d ever go to a billpay

    42
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    Mute Guy Incognito
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    Jul 30th 2015, 12:27 PM

    Three Prepay Nexus 5 user reporting in. Eager to see if the new N5 appears later this year!

    16
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    Mute Arthur Pewty
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:56 AM

    OnePlus are showing how crazy the prices Apple and Samsung are setting. not worth their price at all

    51
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    Mute Conor Power
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    Jul 30th 2015, 1:14 PM

    And ZTE make a phone just as good as the oneplus one for half the price. Vodafone have it here rebranded as Smart Ultra 6. Utterly amazing phone for €170 unlocked sim free. 12 MP Sony sensor on camera, SD card slot 16gb storage, 2gb ram. I personally consider it a better phone than the iPhone 6 plus which makes the €800 price difference look completely ludicrous!!!!

    20
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    Mute Will Bourke
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    Jul 30th 2015, 6:40 PM

    Roll on Aug 11 for the OnePlus 2

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    Mute graham galvin
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    Jul 30th 2015, 7:46 PM

    Try the huawei ascend g7. It’s a mid range price but an absolute beast. Watch out for huawei over the coming months as they are launching more flagships with a mid range price.

    6
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    Mute Gerard Ryan
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:39 AM

    I blame the networks and their ridiculous contract offers. In an era of high streaming like Netflix and Deezer they offer you 1GB data at a high price point per month. 1GB would last me 2 days at best.

    36
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    Mute Techguy.ie
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:40 AM

    I buy all my phones outright now better than buyin on contract and being tied to it

    34
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    Mute Michael cunnane
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    Jul 30th 2015, 12:27 PM

    Samsung have themselves to blame.Not having an sd card slot is an amazing own goal.They have always had one so they broke with tradition n put a huge price tag on what is an amazing phone, fabulous featured and great design but hopefully on their new release they will have learned.Samsung edge is the best phone out there but price Is too high n needs an sd slot.

    24
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    Mute Jay Coleman
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    Jul 30th 2015, 12:03 PM

    Samsung are muck anyway, crap bloatware , poor security and this is across all their products including smart TVs. It’s a real pity HTC are doing so bad as their M7/8/9 are fantastic phones and the xda modding teams love them. I love my iPhone but the HTC one comes just a fraction behind it.

    24
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    Mute Mairéad Cahill
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    Jul 30th 2015, 4:30 PM

    I hope samsung realise that changing the price is going to make no difference. why buy an s6 when the s5 is 1000 times better, waterproof sd slot and removal battery.

    18
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    Mute Martin O Donnell
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    Jul 30th 2015, 12:38 PM

    s6 and edge were a step back from the s5 so sticking with s5 for mo. …

    16
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    Mute Drew TheChinaman :)
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:35 AM

    Figures a year out of date… Samsung lost its title of the world’s largest smartphone maker back to Apple in Q4 2014. Almost a year ago when iPhone 6 was released.

    15
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    Mute Christopher Duffin
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    Jul 30th 2015, 12:18 PM

    “Is going to” in the heading “Is considering” in the first sentence. Amazing.

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    Mute David
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    Jul 30th 2015, 11:22 AM

    between the lean loin of supermarket advertising and the scrimp of telecommunications semiconductors…Houston, we’ve had a problem here

    10
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    Mute Sean Thornton
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    Jul 30th 2015, 8:54 PM

    Their annoying popup” check battery cover” on the s5 is reason enough never to buy a samsung product again. Clowns.

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    Mute Maire Ui Riain
    Favourite Maire Ui Riain
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    Jul 30th 2015, 3:05 PM

    I hate android….crap Google product…..I hate iOS…..but you can’t deny never/rarely cliches…..but they are battery beetles….bring back BLACKBERRY…..Porsche has designed a blackberry but it’s like way beyond my price range….These android and apple phones force you to leave your phone on for the alarm….blackberry doesn’t! Why can’t these feckers do the same….

    1
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