The Galaxy S5 didn't get a dedicated event for its announcement unlike the Galaxy S III and S4, and many had wondered what reasons Samsung had to announce its newest flagship earlier than usual. Now, a report from Business Korea is citing industry sources as saying that lack of innovation and the better-than-expected reception of Apple's iPhone 5s in Europe were the two prime reasons for the early reveal of the Galaxy S5.
According to one source, Samsung wanted to divert attention from the lack of innovation – rumors and leaks leading up to the S5's announcement suggested it would have features like a 2k display, 64-bit processor, and a metallic body, but except for a fingerprint scanner, most of the rumored and hyped features didn't appear on the final product. This supposedly prompted Samsung to announce the S5 at Mobile World Congress (MWC), likely because it didn't feel the new features and improvements in the fifth-generation Galaxy S warranted a dedicated event.
Another reason, apparently given by a Samsung executive, points at the positive reception Apple's iPhone 5s received in Europe, a market where the Galaxy S series is extremely popular. “I heard that it was necessary for our company to unveil the new version ahead of schedule, since the iPhone 5s got a better-than-expected response in Europe, which is the Galaxy S series’ stronghold.”
Both reasons actually sound quite reasonable (pun intended) – the Galaxy S5 does have enough new features to make it a good upgrade over the previous flagship, but the hype created by the rumors did make a lot of people feel underwhelmed after the official announcement. Also, the iPhone 5s has been doing pretty well, and since it has a good head start in the market, Samsung probably thought it best to let the world know about its new flagship as soon as possible.
Of course, we'll probably never know the real reason behind the early announcement, but for Samsung, it might just have worked out quite well, so the Galaxy S5 should become yet another bestselling device in the Android market when it launches on April 11 in more than 150 countries simultaneously.
