The lukewarm reception that greeted the Samsung Galaxy S4 has opened the door for competitors. The HTC One, for example, has been very well received. The question for Apple (AAPL 0.52%) investors is whether having two viable alternatives is collectively worse than just one. Much as two franchise locations across the street from each other may steal sales from each other, but ultimately have higher collective revenues, there is a real risk that two foes may hurt Apple.

In the video below, Fool.com contributor Doug Ehrman discusses the potential problems of having multiple foes and why Samsung's weaker showing may have hurt Apple again.