As Sad As It Makes Me, It's Clear That Samsung Has Lost And Apple Has Won

[syspry]

Sales are atrocious...worse than the S5 and that wasn't good by any stretch.

Unfounded as you've seen in the above replies

It seems to me that Samsung clearly made the better product but the hordes still flock to Apple.

Did it? Deeper digging by really tech savvy communities are starting to uncover things now that the honeymoon phase is over. Attenuation, touch sensitivity, battery drain being the 3 primary. To head off the obvious rebuttal I'm not saying the iPhone doesn't have its own issues but my own personal opinion to this is that the S6 and 6+ are basically even overall.

I will repeat that I think this is a terrible shame as the S6 beats the iphone in pretty much every category (screen, flexibility, speed, camera and even battery life when compared to the iphone 6)...including build quality and aesthetics. But, at the end of the day, it's the buying public who determines the winner(s). And it seems that the public has spoken.

Does it? You're comparing it to the 6 but make no mention of the 6+. Your comment about quality and aesthetics is also highly subjective and debatable as well.

 

[Zoostation]

It's a valid question whether we should be comparing the S6 to the 6 or the 6+. I tend to think you need to compare it to the 6 and compare the Note to the 6+

 

[Zoostation]

It is sad really because the S6 was Samsung's best phone to date by far but its extremely difficult to covert long time iPhone users no matter how good the S6 specs are on paper. I have friends that use iPhone that wont even look at an android phone. I show them what the S6 can do and all the features it has and they just dont care. The most I get is "oh thats cool" but thats not enough to make them switch. My sister picked up my S6 the other day and was totally lost. She couldnt navigate the homescreens, the menus, etc. She said to me and this were her exact words "I dont see how ppl can use phones like these". And thats how most iPhone owners feel about Android. Me being a tech geek I like to try out new things so I was open minded to it but I can definitely see why iPhone users stick with what they know and love.

I have seen both sides here. I have a lot of friends who are iPhone users. They had a good experience with their first one and are loyal customers who will be iPhone users for life. They have no desire to even learn about what else is out there. On the other hand, there are some iPhone users who can be converted if the product is good. My sister is a convert to an S6 and I didn't even have to try and talk her into it.

 

[anon8380037]

What's the latest on Apple ever bringing out lower end devices, then Android may be in trouble (and I understand some pros and cons of Apple ever doing that).

The other debate I haven't caught up on was that Apple have no where else to go, design or software wise, with the iPhone, now that they went 6+ size.

So: expensive, profitable watches,
and claims of superior chips, storage and reception for their next generations will keep fans loyal for a while.

I guess even if the next rounds of new hardware won't be that impressive, the next 2 years should be interesting.


(I have no idea what I'm saying - btw)

 

[Almeuit]

Were the sale numbers officially released? Can you post the link? I'd love to read .

 

[RitchieJoe]

I'm personally ditching samsung this year but I won't be going near an iphone. It would be interesting to see the sales figures for samsungs next flagship device if they came with the option of touchwiz or stock android ( i understand it may not be practical)

 

[debdroid1a]

Why are you comparing an OS (Android) against a device (iPhone) in market shares. If you want a fair comparison, compare OS with OS. Android vs iOS which means all iPhones, iPods, iPads and now Apple Watch.

Once Samsung switches to Tizen, Android market share will take a big hit because Samsung is the #1 smartphone maker worldwide.

I think Android OS would win out because of the less expensive models and the variety of phones available.

Now if you take into account all of Apple products, such as the iPad, you have to add the Samsung Tablets (including the new Nook that is running Samsung) or even all Android Tablets, and the cheap tablets for under $100 that are running Android., if you're comparing OS versus OS.

I wouldn't mind seeing a comparison of Apple Watch to Samsung or even just Android watches. Coworkers see my Samsung Gear 2 Neo and like it, but I don't have one coworker who has bought an Apple watch. Most likely because they see no reason for it. Most people don't. Not sure how you would add the Peeble Watch, which supposedly can run on iOS and Android. And I'm not sure what the kids smart watches (like VTech) are running.

I agree, it would be interesting to see a comparison for all products under the OS.

 

[BlackZeppelin]

Why Samsung should be nervous about its premium Galaxy smartphones - CNET


This link is spot on and mentions 2 things I believe in specifically which I will get to.

Firstly, apart from Apple, the whole premium smartphone market has slowed. The article I provided shows that there is a saturation in the premium market. The problem is that Apple dominates the high end and there is a plethora of cheaper Android devices with good specs in the lower end. A phenomenon this article states as the emergence of "good enough" phones. Much cheaper android phones but with still plenty good specs for a lot of people.

The S6 and Note 5 are steps in the wrong directions. Samsung should have retained their distinguishing features and make them better with innovations. The S6 should have had say a carbon fibre removable back with the SD card plus waterproofing. The battery should have been significantly bigger, the whole phone slightly thicker than the S5 and there should have been only 2 variants-a 64 and 128 GB version with SD card. The Edge version was an extremely expensive gimmick that cost a fortune to develop and didn't sway people to Samsung. Imagine the enormous savings if you only had to produce 2 versions minus the very expensive to produce curved screen.

There should have also been class leading front facing speakers. Samsung could have also differentiated itself in the top end by having a xenon rear flash and front led flash together. If you did all that and made it a bit cheaper, that type of S6 would have sold big time. Samsung also could have made huge savings in time and money ordering a processor from Qualcomm rather than developing and making it themselves.

As the article suggests, Samsung needs to open a second formal midrange line, say Galaxy M, to compete with OnePlus etc. A midrange phone that costs no more than the cheaper Chinese androids would be effective against them. Something like re releasing the S5 in a new body and throwing in a 5mp front camera. With say 32 GB standard plus SD.

Those are my thoughts. I was correct about my sales predictions for the S6 and I think the "new" Note 5 will do worse. And the S6 plus will be a sales disaster.

So to sum, this is how I would have made the S6:

64/128 GB plus SD.
Carbon fibre removable back, phone marginally thicker than the S5.
Battery at least 3200mah.
Front facing speakers equal to HTC.
LED front flash, xenon rear flash.
Waterproofing without flaps.

Now tell me that wouldn't have sold far better than the current S6. And look the time and cost savings. 2 versions only, not developing your own processor, no costly edge version.

 

[ultravisitor]

There is no contest to win.

DING DING DING

Who cares? If you like your phone and it works well for you, then I'm not sure what it matters that it's not the absolute top seller. Someone else liking a different phone does not change your experience with your current phone.

Many Android users complain constantly about iPhone users being blind followers, but those Android users want their own phones to have the exact same following.

 

[aluckyman]

Samsung will fight back, strategily.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Raptor007]

The issue for Samsung is their inconsistent product, it differs from carrier to carrier, and country to country. How about making your phone universal, not letting the carriers remove features and lock them down. If they won't then sell direct open more Samsung stores within retailers like they did inside Best Buy which now has Apple and Windows stores as well.

They need to ditch Touch Wiz, offer a clean and consistently updated platform instead of phones launching months apart getting older or newer version of Android OS. They fail at being consistent and accurate. Awesome hardware, but anyone can make awesome hardware its the UI/UX and OS that matter.

 

[SteveISU]

They're not going to ditch Touch Wiz, it is their UI and has become lighter and lighter over the years. I do agree that if Samsung, HTC, ect want to REALLY compete with Apple, they have to put their foot down and get the carriers out of the way to providing the experience the manufacturers want the end user to have. I doubt Samsung or any of the other manufacturers could succeed on the retail side of things the way Apple has.

 

[Jon_Doh]

I think it's not just Samsung who lost the battle but Android in general. It's not that Android is an inferior OS in any way, but that the phone makers don't get it. Every major Android phone manufacturer has bought into bigger is better and with every release they make their phones bigger and bigger. Now granted, some like bigger phones, but I really think most do not and that's why people are moving away from the Androids to Apple. Go back a few years when Android phones were hot and you'll see they were a decent size, but since every manufacturer began making gargantuan phones their sales have declined. And what's their solution to declining sales? To make the next generation of phones even bigger. Take the Nexus 5 as an example. It was a huge hit. Then Moto make the Nexus 6 and sales plummeted. LG is making the new 5X and although the screen is about the same size as the 5 the body of the phone is quite a bit bigger. I bet it won't be a big hit either. HTC's sales dropped through the floor when they made the M7's successor bigger. Same thing happened with LG and on and on. My phone is 2 1/2 years old and I'm looking to replace it as the proximity sensor is going bad. I don't see anything out there that's been announced or rumored I want because they're just too big. And I find myself considering going back to the iPhone 6S. Apple gets it. They offer the Plus for those few who prefer a bigger phone, but guess what? It doesn't sell anywhere near as well as the smaller 6S.