Samsung's iPhone challenge

Tomorrow Apple’s iPhone faces the most serious challenge yet to its smartphone dominance when Samsung takes the wraps off the Galaxy S4.

Few specifics are known about the new phone at this stage – although there are plenty of speculative stories online if you want to know what people think the new phone’s specification will be.

Apple’s most recent smartphone, the iPhone 5 remains the recognised market leader. The iPhone brand is better known than any of its rivals. In many markets the iPhone is the top-selling model – although analysts say Samsung outsold Apple globally last year.

Which is why the Galaxy S4 is so important.

Apple pioneered touch screen phones when it launched the first iPhone in 2007. After playing catch-up Samsung proved last year it can innovate as well as Apple. Now it has an opportunity to out-innovate and comprehensively out-sell Apple. That will mark the company’s ascendancy.

The next iPhone isn’t due until around mid-year, which gives Samsung a three-month head start on its rival and increases the pressure on Apple.

Samsung doesn’t have things all its own way. The high end of the smartphone game is close to market saturation. Overall smartphone sales are still growing at around 10% year-on-year but that’s a long way from the 27% growth seen in 2012.