Is not flagship phone gap should be 2 years 0r 18 months instead of 1 year

[faisalbaba]

Every company release new flagship phones every year with few new features .some companies even launches their new flagship phone in 8 to 10 months like Samsung released S8 in April 2017 now launches S9 in feb 2018 then they will launch note 9 in August. same case with OnePlus(5,5T) etc i think only Apple launch date is fixed i.e 1 year.

 

[belodion]

I agree. It creates an artificial pressure on the manufacturers themselves which seems unnecessary and undesirable. On the other hand, I know nothing of the commercial and marketing procedures which may in fact make it desirable from the manufactturers' point of view, and perhaps even necessary for their competitive survival.

 

[LeoRex]

Platform maturity... It wasn't long ago that there was a clear improvement in hardware year over year.

The same thing happened with computers... It took a little bit of time for OEMs to adjust... It'll take time for mobile.

 

[kenmacro_88]

So almost 10 months before the new flagship, Samsung mobile team department need to think what is the new features that need to be introduced, i think right their development team is now working what is the best to offer for S10, and i think even S11 S12 S13.

I am not familiar with the manufacturing industry, but I do wonder how they can catch up with the material and resources for each smartphone release, i mean the market situation

 

[Rukbat]

It's the pressure to be "first to market". If everyone was expecting to launch in April, but Samsung launches at the end of February, a lot of people who were waiting to see what would be coming out will buy the new Samsung instead. (New cars used to come out in their model year - a 1939 Ford would be ready to order on January 2, 1939. Then they started trying to beat each other. the same thing is happening with cellphones.)

 

[tube517]

All about money. Why have one come out every 2 years when you can release one every year or less and make more money.

 

[Morty2264]

I agree that it should be longer. Sometimes, new iterations don't really have *that many* new bells and whistles; and it's just putting more pressure (as others have said) on the manufacturers to make new, competing products when their not-as-new-but-still-awesome flagships released 10 months prior are just as good.

It also influences customers to maybe try that "newer" device and buy a new phone every 10 or 12 months instead of when their contract is up, etc.

It kind of confuses me, because I think, "... Wait, didn't the S8 just come out?" (As an example.)

 

[Anthony Turner4]

I've been having that lingering thought for a while. I believe the phone market just went too fast and now we are at a time where manufacturers are doing ANYTHING to be different (or the same depending on your outlook). Removing headphone jacks, notches, Animojis, all pointless things to stand out. I really wish every manufacturer would've taken their time to make a truly quality product that most people would love. But like many people have said already it's for the money.

 

[Morty2264]

I've been having that lingering thought for a while. I believe the phone market just went too fast and now we are at a time where manufacturers are doing ANYTHING to be different (or the same depending on your outlook). Removing headphone jacks, notches, Animojis, all pointless things to stand out. I really wish every manufacturer would've taken their time to make a truly quality product that most people would love. But like many people have said already it's for the money.

Very well said. Couldn't agree more!

 

[LuxuryTouringZone]

I don't mind the yearly releases. What I hate is almost everybody making smartphones like this: 18:9 ratio, non-removable battery, no headphone jack, no capacitive buttons, no card slot, glass bodied with an eyesore notch atop.

 

[cert15z]

I would be happy with a two year refresh cycle. I would even be willing to pay a fee for continuing updates between cycles. Especially if it helps keeps my phone on the latest security patch and Android version.

 

[Morty2264]

I would be happy with a two year refresh cycle. I would even be willing to pay a fee for continuing updates between cycles. Especially if it helps keeps my phone on the latest security patch and Android version.

I would be very happy with this procedure, as well. Great idea!

 

[kramer5150]

Doesn't bother me. They are not forcing me to buy it so I could care less. Its easy for me to say this though because my phones all have replace-able batteries.

 

[Morty2264]

Doesn't bother me. They are not forcing me to buy it so I could care less. Its easy for me to say this though because my phones all have replace-able batteries.

I miss having replaceable batteries!

 

[J Dubbs]

Doesn't bother me. They are not forcing me to buy it so I could care less. Its easy for me to say this though because my phones all have replace-able batteries.

Yep I'm going to keep my phone for 4 years or so whether they release a new model once a year, once a month, or once a week ;-)

And the manufacturers are finding out that more and more folks are doing the same thing. Samsung couldn't come close to meeting market expectations for the S8 line and had to give deep discounts, 2 for 1 deals, crazy trade in deals etc to get the phones sold.

And Apple had to cut the production of iPhone X's in half because of poor sales, and they're discontinuing the line when they get them all sold. It's ironic that Apple has their biggest failure celebrating the tenth anniversary of their biggest success =-O

 

[FutureMech]

It's an endless cycle of small upgrades in a course of 6-12 months, there is a cure to it.

Find a phone that will make the other looks very unappealing and won't make you cave for new tech each 6 months

For me, the Mate 9 did what no phone could do- gave me zero reasons to upgrade, as at least for me, no phone is a true upgrade, heck some even a downgrade, though the P20 Pro is defiantly a catcher.

 

[kramer5150]

I am not some tree hugging greenie... but some of the statistics surrounding annual electronic waste are staggering:

https://www.rubiconglobal.com/blog-electronic-waste-problem/

 

[Morty2264]

It's an endless cycle of small upgrades in a course of 6-12 months, there is a cure to it.

Find a phone that will make the other looks very unappealing and won't make you cave for new tech each 6 months

For me, the Mate 9 did what no phone could do- gave me zero reasons to upgrade, as at least for me, no phone is a true upgrade, heck some even a downgrade, though the P20 Pro is defiantly a catcher.

That is a hard mission to accomplish!

 

[Tsepz_GP]

So almost 10 months before the new flagship, Samsung mobile team department need to think what is the new features that need to be introduced, i think right their development team is now working what is the best to offer for S10, and i think even S11 S12 S13.

I am not familiar with the manufacturing industry, but I do wonder how they can catch up with the material and resources for each smartphone release, i mean the market situation

They have been doing this for decades. You forget that Samsung is a huge company, they have multiple product teams all working on multiple different devices at once, all at different stages.

Much like car companies, phone manufacturers have a product road map that they build according to industry trend predictions and available technology. Samsung and Apple probably already have their Flagships for 2019, 2020 and 2021 already planned, each at a different phase, e.g. flagship for 2019 is probably now in full development as the 2018 flagships are going into production (or already on sale e.g. S9).

Remember when the iPhone launched in 2007? Phone companies were not at all ready, most of them had product Road maps that did not include big Capacitive Displays,they were all focused on beating the Nokia N95 and BlackBerry Bold. This is why it took most of them such a long time (~3-4years) to catch up. It was not until 2010 that we saw some real iPhone competition before that most of the products were rushed and not at all very well done.

 

[fitguyz88]

Personally, I think that 2 years gap is just nice, but if they got all new fresh idea each year and also want to compete who is the best among the best to provide new innovation, nobody can stop them.

So Huawei just launched with 3 cameras, then soon Samsung with 4 camera? Lol maybe