Photo: Maurizio Pesce/Flickr
Samsung said today that it will "adjust" the price of its critically acclaimed Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones in response to disappointing sales this quarter. The company, whose net profit for the quarter fell 8 percent compared to this time last year to around $4.93 billion, also warned of a "difficult business environment" for the remainder of the year.The Galaxy S6 currently goes for about $600 without a contract, while the pricier Galaxy S6 Edge, which has a curved screen used to display notifications, goes for about $700.Of course, what Samsung can't outright say is that this "difficult business environment" will almost entirely be caused by the expected release of an updated iPhone, commonly referred to online as the iPhone 6S. (Apple typically introduces its new iPhones in September.) Samsung will try to blunt the impact of this new iPhone in August when it's expected to introduce the Galaxy Note 5, the latest iteration of the smartphone that helped popularize the concept of larger screened smartphones (also known as "phablets"). A Galaxy Note Edge is also expected to be introduced at the same time.Samsung's basic problem, according to analysts, hasn't changed for the past several quarters: Apple owns the high end of the smartphone market while companies like OnePlus, Motorola, and Xiaomi are now gunning for the lower-end. Samsung is caught in the middle, and, like Sony, is increasingly relying on the sale of components to offset lagging smartphone sales.