Apple (AAPL) on Watch Following Samsung's Prelim. Q1 Results

Will Samsung's preliminary Q1 results be a 'canary in the coal mine' for Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL)?

According to a press release issued today, Samsung sees CQ114 net income of 8.4 trillion won, which is down 4 percent over the same period last year. Sales are expected to be 53 trillion won.

Net profit and sales were up 1 percent and down 11 percent over the prior quarter, respectively.

While Samsung draws in sales from various other operating segments and ventures, there's more underlying concern than meets the eye. Average selling prices on devices are expected to be down 9 percent to $275 this year due mainly to slowing smartphone growth in North America, Europe, and several Asian markets. Anecdotally, it would seem that Samsung is also accelerating updates to its smartphone and tablet line, with the Galaxy S5 being released April 11, 2014, from an April 26, 2013, release of the Galaxy S4 and May 29, 2012, release of the Galaxy S3.

Apple is a different story. While it makes gobs of money with its iPhone, the company is clearly becoming more of a storage- and media-focused organization. That said, the company's next iPhone is said to sport a much larger display that predecessors, indicating that there is some lagging demand and offerings from Samsung, HTC, and others keep drawing away users.

Investors will be keeping an eye on Apple as its Q2 earnings date nears. The company will report results on April 23rd.

Shares of Apple are about flat early Tuesday.

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