Why I think no removable batter/MicroSD is a good thing.

[Aquila]

You can make the same argument in favor of getting rid of anything. Lower the screen resolution. Maybe batteries will last longer. Get rid of the S pen. Hardly anyone really needs it, right? It devotes too much resources to this minor feature that could be used for other things! Who cares about the vocal minority that likes it? Just be like everyone else--be a follower instead of a leader.

But keep slicing away groups that like this or that, and you pretty much find that your customer base has suddenly eroded. This 8% won't buy because it no longer has THIS. That 11% won't buy because it no longer has THAT. And so on. People have different computing needs. Samsung has made its bones by providing lots of key features that others didn't have. If it now goes on the warpath to keep taking things away, many of us will look for companies that give us what we want. SOMEONE will. It's a marketing advantage. It gives the company an identity.

If you're the one who won't them buy them simply because they have,say, removable batteries, I suspect you're vastly outnumbered by those of us who consider it important as a feature and a deal-breaker. (Actually, for me the SD card is even more important.) There are 3 groups: those that gotta have, those that won't buy with it, and those in the middle who don't care either way. I imagine the middle is by far the largest group. But I also would assert that the number of people who refuse to buy the phone simply BECAUSE it has sd card slots and removable batteries is somewhere between slim and none. Thus, Samsung has a net loss of existing customers if it goes this way.

As this market keeps getting more and more competitive and more and more mature, it's not so easy to distinguish oneself from competitors. Making yourself look like everyone else is a really big mistake. And once people leave, they may never come back.

I'm not discounting that people want or do not want certain features. And the presence of these features won't prevent me from buying a device alone, they're representative of a mindset. I bought the Shield Tablet despite it having a microSD slot. There is no better tablet available, with or without that feature at any price. For a tablet marketed as being made for gaming, SD is a mistake. Most apps/games cannot be fully leveraged from an SD card and they're enormous. This is a case where internal storage (the increased speed, reliability) wins out over SD and IMO NVIDIA made the wrong call. That didn't stop me from buying it, I just choose not to use it. On the other end, of course there are some users who won't buy a device that omits that feature. That's totally fine too.

 

[Inders99]

Good news is HTC is willing to give you removable storage, and Saygus and LG are willing to give you both.

LG is...for now anyway. Their first leak indicated a complete redesign:
LG's mobile chief hints at design overhaul for upcoming G4 | Android Central

 

[clevin]

IME its quite a bit more than one year. The only phone I've had long enough to notice battery degradation was my iPhone 4. ... I had the battery replaced in the mall, while I waited, for $90.

������from the Note 4✒ ������

I don't think your vague observation constitutes a quantifiable fact. I actually can present you some interesting stuff here.

I have made regular battery calibrations since I got my Note 3 in Oct of 2013. http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...ttery-calibration-history-your-reference.html

The loss of capacity after a year is quite obvious and pronounced when you compare these data carefully.

 

[clevin]

sorry, mod, please delete this dup post. Not sure how it happened.

 

[monsieurms]

I' On the other end, of course there are some users who won't buy a device that omits that feature. That's totally fine too.

We may disagree on some things, but live long and prosper.

 

[anon8380037]

If this is to apply to all flagship Samsung's in the future, make changing a battery an inexpensive, subsidised affair via stores, Samsung centres or express mail.
About 20-25 for the battery plus 10-15 fitting and shipping, done. Will the warranty cover peoples battery jitters? If so people will be demanding a new one if it had a bad day.

Anyway, in one or two years time, flagship phones will possibly have 128gb +, and development of sd card speeds will have stopped. Project Ara or whatever will be the in thing.

What to do with this thread!

It's done already.

People could vote with their feet, but they won't. Launch day will have throngs, at least in the press.

Continue venting, that's fine. The middle ground - ers will get tired of trying to appease and give up.

Don't buy it. I know most of you do actually WANT and were looking forward to the S6 with removables, but it's not here.

All that can be achieved is to try and influence the design of the Note 5 and S7/S6+.

 

[atakin77]

At the end of the day, the decision for Samsung to move away from the SD card and removable battery hinged on its market research. I'm sure they read comments on these forums (would assume they do anyway since they used to pay posters) but I guarantee Samsung spent millions upon millions of dollars on market and consumer research determining why people by a Samsung phone, why they don't, why they switch to other brands, etc. Then they probably spent countless more millions understanding how this consumer behavior would impact purchases of future phones. The end result of taking all those things into consideration is the S6. The design you see is one in which they feel they can make more money selling.

 

[anon8380037]

The design was determined by a marketing decision to go with an engineering decision to metal frame and glass it which sealed it as a necessity which was passed by a marketing decision.

 

[KJ78]

The only thing that really concerns me is the battery. Not that its not removable, but its on the low side. Now I am sure samsung tested it, but hope it doesn't end up like iPhone with so-so battery life. I am going to wait and see what reviewers say about battery life...

Exactly. Battery size is down 10% from the S5. One of the benefits of an internal battery is that you can put more battery capacity in a smaller space. Reduced power consumption is always oversold on every new tech iteration. If $am$ung offered a Maxx version like Moto did with the Droid line I'd consider it. No way I'm going to depend on that small of a battery with that big of a screen. I don't want to be tethered to an electric outlet all day.

 

[Haalcyon]

I don't think your vague observation constitutes a quantifiable fact. I actually can present you some interesting stuff here.

I have made regular battery calibrations since I got my Note 3 in Oct of 2013. http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...ttery-calibration-history-your-reference.html

The loss of capacity after a year is quite obvious and pronounced when you compare these data carefully.

So, I'd possibly have more of an excuse to get a new device? Okay. I can live with that.

♻from the Note 4✒

 

[Inders99]

Exactly. Battery size is down 10% from the S5. One of the benefits of an internal battery is that you can put more battery capacity in a smaller space. Reduced power consumption is always oversold on every new tech iteration. If $am$ung offered a Maxx version like Moto did with the Droid line I'd consider it. No way I'm going to depend on that small of a battery with that big of a screen. I don't want to be tethered to an electric outlet all day.

Wait for the actual real world feedback before judging this aspect.

 

[Inders99]

If this is to apply to all flagship Samsung's in the future, make changing a battery an inexpensive, subsidised affair via stores, Samsung centres or express mail.
About 20-25 for the battery plus 10-15 fitting and shipping, done. Will the warranty cover peoples battery jitters? If so people will be demanding a new one if it had a bad day.

Yes...without question. No on the mail though, since I use it for work I couldn't be without it for a few days. A store option would be fine.

 

[Carrtman]

As far as research goes: well if Samsung really spent millions on it they've wasted a lot of money because 1. A phone isn't fashion and 2. Someone anyone would have told them that a glass back is an enormous fingerprint magnet.

I get it,I really do Iphone, Nexus and Motorola users don't care...fine but those guys and girls haven't been Samsung customers because they prefer something else (which is fine) ...on the other hand some Samsung customers are having expectations other manufacturers aren't meeting, period.

The only thing I agree with is that it's too late for the s6 but not for the next Note or s6 Active.

Also all those speed comparison benchmarks are useless I have my eye test and music, videos and pictures are running smooth on my sd cards. Maybe games would be different but a phone is a communication device not a toy.

Thinner isn't always better try typing on one of those super thin phones and you'll find out what I mean.

It's funny reading stuff like use the cloud, streaming services yeah sure I'm going to trust my data to other companies and risk getting hacked and create an extra account just to store music, videos and pictures on my phone...doesn't get much dumber seriously. Battery is the same joke everyone knows it will degrade over time and why should I accept less convenience and more hassle (weeks without my phone and 80 $) for something in should be able to do on myself.

Nope, I don't need millions of research here to see that someone in charge of the s6 philosophy has screwed up big time.

 

[Inders99]

The only thing I agree with is that it's too late for the s6 but not for the next Note or s6 Active.

From your perspective. There are going to be plenty who don't want to be dumped in your basket.

Nope, I don't need millions of research here to see that someone in charge of the s6 philosophy has screwed up big time.

I've bookmarked this post for after we get some sales data.

 

[Carrtman]

From your perspective. There are going to be plenty who don't want to be dumped in your basket.

I've bookmarked this post for after we get some sales data.

As long as I'm away as far as possible from your basket I'm fine with mine, thanks.

Have fun with the bookmark *lol*

 

[Almeuit]

1. Some of the "I don't care people" are using Nexus, Motorola etc. nothing wrong with that mind you but I stand to question why people who are obviously happy with sealed batteries and no sd card can't understand why Samsung customers want those features? If I wouldn't care about stuff like physical home buttons, at least capacitive ones and removable battery or micro sd I would have bought one of the many customer unfriendly phones I.e Nexus, Motorola...

I get it,I really do Iphone, Nexus and Motorola users don't care...fine but those guys and girls haven't been Samsung customers because they prefer something else (which is fine) ...on the other hand Samsung customers are having expectations other manufacturers aren't meeting, period.

Oh the memories, kept hearing the same about the s5 and btw. all this minority vs majority line of thinking doesn't help either because nobody can really say which camp is which.

You know ... You sure say "Samsung customers" like you know what ALL customers want .. or simply assume that if someone says they do not want these features they're not a "Samsung customer" but then tell others this "minority vs majority line of thinking doesn't help" since we can't tell who is what? But you can?

Sorry just doesn't seem fair that you can generalize these things but are shooting down others for doing the same when they also have valid points .. just as you do... But BOTH sides are not 100% .. we all know this. I am a Samsung customer and do not agree with your points entirely. Can I see both sides of the argument? Sure .. but I have bought Samsung since the S2 and am not freaking out entirely about no SD / battery removal. Did I like the battery swaps ? Yes but .. it isn't what I look for in a phone as much as others.. but those are my needs .. everyone has different needs when picking a phone.

 

[Inders99]

As long as I'm away as far as possible from your basket I'm fine with mine, thanks.

Have fun with the bookmark *lol*

I have no interest in your basket.

The S3 sold 10MM the first 50 days, the S4 took 30 days to sell 10MM, the S5 took 30 days to sell 11MM.

What's the benchmark that you have determined that Samsung has "screwed up big time"?

 

[anon8380037]

At the end of the day, the decision for Samsung to move away from the SD card and removable battery hinged on its market research. I'm sure they read comments on these forums (would assume they do anyway since they used to pay posters) but I guarantee Samsung spent millions upon millions of dollars on market and consumer research determining why people by a Samsung phone, why they don't, why they switch to other brands, etc. Then they probably spent countless more millions understanding how this consumer behavior would impact purchases of future phones. The end result of taking all those things into consideration is the S6. The design you see is one in which they feel they can make more money selling.

Good post, but personally I don't think Samsung spend loads and bother with customer opinion at all. There was a similar debate when they failed to IP67 the Note 4.

If they had done research and knew that many relied on and expexted sd and batteries, (which they may have done), they coulda/wouda/shoulda have started a campaign to convince us of the long term merits of device memory, the new cpu, battery technology and sealed case.

That probably hurts most. There was nothing, nada, zilch.
Everything has to be secret up to the show, sure, but they made no effort at explaining. Take it or leave it. (Mind you, I didn't follow any of it )

They will now have to likely triple their tech support.

 

[Carrtman]

You know ... You sure say "Samsung customers" like you know what ALL customers want .. or simply assume that if someone says they do not want these features they're not a "Samsung customer" but then tell others this "minority vs majority line of thinking doesn't help" since we can't tell who is what? But you can?

Sorry just doesn't seem fair that you can generalize these things but are shooting down others for doing the same when they also have valid points .. just as you do... But BOTH sides are not 100% .. we all know this. I am a Samsung customer and do not agree with your points entirely. Can I see both sides of the argument? Sure .. but I have bought Samsung since the S2 and am not freaking out entirely about no SD / battery removal. Did I like the battery swaps ? Yes but .. it isn't what I look for in a phone as much as others.. but those are my needs .. everyone has different needs when picking a phone.

Ok got I'll change it to some

 

[ahj4513]

These are increasingly mature products with only incremental advances.

Samsung made a HUGE leap from last year's model. It is currently the most distinguishable, desired item on the mobile market(as of 2015 March). Samsung has been a hardware bully of the mobile market, and now it's perfecting its phone design. When they get the galaxy s line the iPhone level software-hardware integration, Samsung will dominate the smartphone market once and for all.

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