Be afraid Samsung; be very afraid. That's the warning from analysts at Wells Fargo, who stated Wednesday that Apple's stock continues to be undervalued "given what we believe will be the biggest product launch in consumer electronics history", referring to the iPhone 5's September launch. The firm estimates that Apple will earn $46.55 per share in fiscal year 2012, and $54.27 per share in FY 2013.
Wells Fargo is hardly alone in their grand expectations for the iPhone 5's launch. J.P Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz added ""We think that a combination of revolutionary hardware enhancements and software-driven services will reaffirm the iPhone as the leading smartphone in 2013."
The praise isn't surprising given Apple's history, with over 218 million iPhones sold since the first one launched five years ago, and legions of dedicated fans the world over. And with the wealth of enhancements the iPhone 5 will offer over previous models (and the current models of other brands), it's not hard to imagine everyone and their hip Grandma wanting one on launch day.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 is proving to be a viable contender to the iPhone 4S, with impressive pre-orders of 10 million, and favorable reviews since its launch. The iPhone 5 however appears to be a cut above, in terms of both design and features.
In that sense, Samsung appears to be the Nintendo of the mobile world, coming to market first with a new product that can rival the current offering of their biggest competitor Apple (Sony and Microsoft in Nintendo's case), but being eclipsed shortly thereafter by that competitor's own new product.
We'll likely see this dance continue with a new phone from Samsung in the future that rivals what we first se in the iPhone 5, only to see Apple once again raise the bar with the iPhone 6.
Before that day comes though, Apple has an iPhone 5 launch to see to, one that just may be the biggest launch of its kind in history.
