I think Samsung is in trouble

[ThrottleJohnny]

I subscribe to this theory. And I think Samsung doesn't want to get into the low price war so they figured they better make a premium device. They might be down a lot more if they released another plastic phone.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

Agreed. The S5 waves and says hi.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

I subscribe to this theory. And I think Samsung doesn't want to get into the low price war so they figured they better make a premium device. They might be down a lot more if they released another plastic phone.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

Well, from what I've been seeing, the Moto X and even the OnePlus Two has similar build quality.

IMHO, a price drop to something a bit more reasonable would help them.

I still stand by my belief that Samsung's decline has to do with cheaper phones that are similarly-specced. I don't think it has anything to do with their decision to remove an SD card slot and sealing up a battery.

Remember, they've been in decline before the Note 4 even got revealed

 

[Crashdamage]

I subscribe to this theory. And I think Samsung doesn't want to get into the low price war so they figured they better make a premium device. They might be down a lot more if they released another plastic phone.

You're forgetting that Samsung makes literally dozens of different models of plastic phones aimed at the mid to low end. They are putting a massive effort into competing in those markets. They already are in a low price war. It will be a difficult battle to win.

Like I said earlier, look at what happened to Nokia. They had piled of cash. They were a market monster. Three years later they had become a market mouse. It only takes a few mistakes. The same thing could easily happen to Samsung.


Android since v1.0. Linux since 2001.

 

[brancross]

But Samsung is still the best company in Android world, if not LG g4 had already taken Samsung's place, but it didn't happen. But I don't think I will buy Samsung's phones next year, I preordered note5 and I didn't feel excited.

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[BlackZeppelin]

Samsung's latest financial reporting session showed disappointing sales of the S6, and they admitted they underestimated the demand for the S6 Edge. By the time they figured out the mistake and increased Edge shipments, it was too late...the buzz had worn off. I see more of the same for the Note/S6 Edge +, as it seems Samsung is not doing a good job of understanding what their consumers want.

I believe the root cause is a dramatic shift in Samsung's approach to phones and tablets. They want to be Apple 2.0, but have missed the bulk of the premium phone market already as most people who can afford the top of the line phones are seeing fewer reasons to upgrade every year for incremental feature enhancements. They have shifted the design of their top tier tablets to the same diminsions of iPads, but waited to do this until iPad sales had already started a large decline....again, too late to the premium game.

There used to be complaints about Samsung's cheap hardware design (plastic backs, etc), but the phones still sold well. I believe they did need to improve in the hardware design area, and this year's models are indeed beautiful. However, they dropped many of the features that were differentiators between them and Apple, like removeable batteries, SD cards, IR blasters, water proofing (for the S5 anyway), etc. So now they have fewer feature advantages, little to no price advantage, have alienated a significant portion of their core users, and are facing a rapidly increasing set of Android competitors that offer good or better quality phones often at much lower prices.

I hope I'm wrong. My last 3 phones have been the Note 4, Note 3, and S3. But as nice as the new phones look, things that matter to me are no longer available in the Samsung top tier. I'm gonna start looking at other vendors, and I'm guessing many others will as well.

What do you think?

Spot on I couldn't agree with you more. Make no mistake if Samsung continues its present course they will go down like Nokia. I swear there are Apple moles working for Samsung. What I believe is really tragic is that the S6 came very close to being a phenomenal sales winner. If it had simply a removable back plus a bigger battery than the S5 + micro SD card + generous hard drive storage as standard, it would have sold much better .

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Spot on I couldn't agree with you more. Make no mistake if Samsung continues its present course they will go down like Nokia. I swear there are Apple moles working for Samsung. What I believe is really tragic is that the S6 came very close to being a phenomenal sales winner. If it had simply a removable back plus a bigger battery than the S5 + micro SD card + generous hard drive storage as standard, it would have sold much better .

I think what would really make an impact is a lower price-tag.

They've been in decline before the Note 4 came out, so I highly doubt that their decision to remove an SD card slot made a big difference, though it is a possible factor.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Well, from what I've been seeing, the Moto X and even the OnePlus Two has similar build quality.

IMHO, a price drop to something a bit more reasonable would help them.

I still stand by my belief that Samsung's decline has to do with cheaper phones that are similarly-specced. I don't think it has anything to do with their decision to remove an SD card slot and sealing up a battery.

Remember, they've been in decline before the Note 4 even got revealed

I agree with you. I haven't used a device with an SD card slot and/or a removable battery since I last used a BlackBerry in 2011.

I'm currently using a 2013 Moto X. I'm getting the 2015 Moto X Pure when it is released, but because I like stock Android, not because I need an SD card slot.

 

[Crashdamage]

A removable battery and SD card is not the answer. If it was really a big deal the iPhone, which has never had either one, wouldn't be so successful.

I'm not smart enough to say exactly what Samsung should do. But cutting way, WAY back on the number of models, while offering models both with and without removable batteries and SD cards seems like a good place to start. Eliminating Touchwiz and reducing the number of different phones would cut development, tooling, production and inventory costs. In turn they could offer more competitive pricing.

Android since v1.0. Linux since 2001.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

A removable battery and SD card is not the answer. If it was really a big deal the iPhone, which has never had either one, wouldn't be so successful.

I'm not smart enough to say exactly what Samsung should do. But cutting way, WAY back on the number of models, while offering models both with and without removable batteries and SD cards seems like a good place to start. Eliminating Touchwiz and reducing the number of different phones would cut development, tooling, production and inventory costs. In turn they could offer more competitive pricing.

Android since v1.0. Linux since 2001.

Same.

Also, lowering the prices on their phones would also make a significant impact.

Their current prices for a contract-free device are insane. They cost more than the iPhone.

 

[BlackZeppelin]

Ahh the hyperbole. Samsung is "only" gonna make around $6 Billion profit this QUARTER. The trend is down, but jeez guys, I think they can keep the lights on here.

Are you sure? 6 billion dollars for a quarter equals 24 billion dollars for a year. Samsung last year spent 34 billion dollars in research alone. Plus of course massive amounts of money in advertising.

 

[dsignori]

Are you sure? 6 billion dollars for a quarter equals 24 billion dollars for a year. Samsung last year spent 34 billion dollars in research alone. Plus of course massive amounts of money in advertising.

Oy. 6 billion in PROFIT, not in revenue ..

 

[TheBf666]

That was a dumb move considering the S6/S6 edge has 128 GB. I am a note user, and I have multiple SD cards that I swap using a note phone, and the VERY LEAST they could do is give me a 128 GB option. Aside from storage capacity, it also does not make sense to have a limited worldwide release. Samsung just does not want this thing to sell well it seems, and they are relying on the note 5/S6 edge+ to drive sales for the 2nd half of the year? Make sense? I just have this gut feeling that this note 5 is going to be a bigger disappointment than the S5. Good job, Samsung....

 

[Ry]

So Samsung is going under because of this? HTC is gonna make it, right?

Posted via Android Central App (Moto X)

 

[htran35]

Honestly, I thought the Note 5 was going to fail when I heard that it did not have a removable battery or a sd card reader. I work at Best Buy and we have been receiving a lot of preorders for the Note 5. Also, the Verizon rep came to visit my store this morning to talk about Verizon's new data plans. According to the rep, they have been receiving a lot of preorders for the Note 5 too. So, I guess only time will tell if Samsung is successful with the Note 5/Edge Plus

 

[Ry]

Honestly, I thought the Note 5 was going to fail when I heard that it did not have a removable battery or a sd card reader. I work at Best Buy and we have been receiving a lot of preorders for the Note 5. Also, the Verizon rep came to visit my store this morning to talk about Verizon's new data plans. According to the rep, they have been receiving a lot of preorders for the Note 5 too. So, I guess only time will tell if Samsung is successful with the Note 5/Edge Plus

As a salesperson, is Samsung the easier sale?

Posted via Android Central App (Moto X)

 

[htran35]

As a salesperson, is Samsung the easier sale?

Posted via Android Central App (Moto X)

Most customers already made the decision of what phone they are getting before I even see them. This makes my job a lot easier to be honest. There is a really nice Samsung and Apple display at my store. So, most of the customers tend to leave with a Samsung or Apple smartphone.

 

[bwlmog]

I agree with a lot of the comments posted on this forum and the current position that Samsung is in. They definitely produce too many instantly forgettable phones each year and the release of the S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge + and the Note 5 as flagship phones confuses the consumer.

As a UK consumer looking to make his first foray into Samsung mobiles (previously enjoyed HTC) I have been eagerly waiting the release of the new note to coincide with the end of my phone contract and am left extremely disappointed by the decision to omit Europe from this product.

Having been with HTC I haven't had the luxury of sd cards and removable batteries and have grown accustom to managing with the restrictions of the devices purchased. My reason for wanting the Note was the reason for its creation - its ability to offer something different with the stylus and its carefully crafted integration within its software.

However, I have been deprived of this option. As I understand it, one of the reasons was that they felt this marketplace didn't fully appreciate the stylus and what it brought to the party. Well if that is the case and you were only giving us the Edge + then test that logic. Make the Note elements of the software available as a download through the Samsung marketplace and sell a separate case with a stylus and holder integrated into it and lets see what happens. If successful this could be built as an optional add on to the flagship range.

I know this wouldn't sit easy with the diehard note fans and in an ideal world the Note would have continued on its previous course, but Samsung's recent actions have shown that isn't going to happen. Who knows, the suggestion noted above could introduce more people to the notion of the note, remove the concerns for some over its size and generate an interesting agile consumer product.

 

[Gator352]

....

i'm really outta the loop...wuts the tail end of ur reply mean?! "Rotflmaoiwyci!"

Also, after reading here Best Buy had Note 5 & S6 Edge+ in store already, i had to go visit, hoping against hope they were MUCH better in person....

Two words: oy vay!

This is only one gal's opinion, and i am a diehard Sammy fan, (if Sammy makes it, i buy it, and ask questions LATER) but man o man, this time Sammy, ol' pal, ol' bud, you missed the mark (by about a country mile : (

BTC

in ways you can't imagine!!

 

[anon(27512)]

They should do what Motorola did. Focus on a few good phones instead of releasing so many different phones and having different phones for different markets.

They should have a budget phone, a mid and then the S6 and note flagships. Nice and simple with only 4 phones to worry about per year and they can get updates out faster which will also help retain and gain future customers.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[TheBf666]

So Samsung is going under because of this? HTC is gonna make it, right?

Posted via Android Central App (Moto X)

Not going under, but I don't see it pushing their sales for the 2nd half of the year. I don't see the excitement even from note users looking to upgrade because of the removed features. This reminds me of the disappointment that came with the S5 last year. It is also not available everywhere.