Samsung is distancing itself from Android

[Almeuit]

I'm hoping since Samsung sold US unlocked S7's that is the first step in Samsung getting ready to dictate to carriers..

I don't think it does. They aren't going to lose that $$ for something like that. It doesn't bother them that much.

 

[Kelly Kearns]

Lose money for telling the carriers to leave their stuff off?

I'm hoping Samsung is moving towards being more like Apple in that case.

 

[Ry]

Specifically to the US market:

Most consumers buy their phones from their carrier
Carriers sell a lot of Samsung phones
Marketing costs are usually shared
If Samsung says "screw you carriers", that placement is gone and carriers can easily push another Android OEM in Samsung's place

 

[Almeuit]

Lose money for telling the carriers to leave their stuff off?

I'm hoping Samsung is moving towards being more like Apple in that case.

I don't see it happening. Apple controls the entire software (OS) whereas Android is open for modifications. That's how Samsung can modify it with their stuff as well.

 

[Kelly Kearns]

Well people buy their iPhones from carriers too. I'm hoping that Samsung will get to where iPhone is with carriers and skip the carriers with updates and their bloat. I really think they could pull that off now, even if it takes baby steps.

Carriers still lock iPhones. I would rather see the Samsung carrier locks and bypassing carriers for updates etc. I always get my phones unlocked pretty quickly, but there are ways around that if someone can't get the carrier to unlock it.

For me, the biggest plus would be updates outside of the carrier. TMO does the best with the least amount of bloat IMO.

You don't think Samsung could do the same and not isolate carriers since many customers are specifically wanting Samsung?

 

[Kelly Kearns]

I don't see it happening. Apple controls the entire software (OS) whereas Android is open for modifications. That's how Samsung can modify it with their stuff as well.

Well I'm not talking about their own software, but just mainly getting the carriers to loosen control. We know Samsung does their update and then the carrier does it on top of that and they control of their customers get it or not.

 

[Ry]

Well people buy their iPhones from carriers too. I'm hoping that Samsung will get to where iPhone is with carriers and skip the carriers with updates and their bloat. I really think they could pull that off now, even if it takes baby steps.

Carriers still lock iPhones. I would rather see the Samsung carrier locks and bypassing carriers for updates etc. I always get my phones unlocked pretty quickly, but there are ways around that if someone can't get the carrier to unlock it.

For me, the biggest plus would be updates outside of the carrier. TMO does the best with the least amount of bloat IMO.

You don't think Samsung could do the same and not isolate carriers since many customers are specifically wanting Samsung?

There is no iPhone alternative for carriers to fall back on.

 

[Almeuit]

Well I'm not talking about their own software, but just mainly getting the carriers to loosen control. We know Samsung does their update and then the carrier does it on top of that and they control of their customers get it or not.

I get that but I am saying Android is open not just for manufacturers and that is the key difference in them versus Apple. Harder to say "Well they can modify and add things but you can't" to them.

 

[Kelly Kearns]

You guys are busting my bubble.. STAAAAAHP IT! lol

 

[Vyrlokar]

You can't even compare TouchWiz from the first Note, or the second Note or even the S3 or Note 3 to TouchWiz today.

sure, but touchwiz damaged the brand from there on for me. Watching it on my mother's 7" samsuck tab didn't help either (no idea the generation, but I remember cringing when configuring it. It's one of the wifi only models that came around the time the 2013 nexus 7 came out and the difference was striking)

 

[Kelly Kearns]

sure, but touchwiz damaged the brand from there on for me. Watching it on my mother's 7" samsuck tab didn't help either (no idea the generation, but I remember cringing when configuring it. It's one of the wifi only models that came around the time the 2013 nexus 7 came out and the difference was striking)

Every phone has made improvements over their earlier stuff. It it isn't the same as it was.. Well it isnt what you experienced before.

 

[Tech2011]

Well people buy their iPhones from carriers too. I'm hoping that Samsung will get to where iPhone is with carriers and skip the carriers with updates and their bloat. I really think they could pull that off now, even if it takes baby steps.

Carriers still lock iPhones. I would rather see the Samsung carrier locks and bypassing carriers for updates etc. I always get my phones unlocked pretty quickly, but there are ways around that if someone can't get the carrier to unlock it.

For me, the biggest plus would be updates outside of the carrier. TMO does the best with the least amount of bloat IMO.

You don't think Samsung could do the same and not isolate carriers since many customers are specifically wanting Samsung?

I don't think Samsung has the kind of leverage Apple does. Apple was able to do it when the first iPhone came out because the whole notion of a real smartphone (not a Blackberry type "smartphone") was brand new. Apple essentially invented the modern smartphone with the release of the first gen iPhone.

As a result of the fact that they were first to market, and the fact that Apple had brand recognition elsewhere meant that they had (and still have) control over the carriers that no other smartphone OEM could try to duplicate.

Believe me, I wish Samsung had the kind of leverage to tell the carriers to stop crapping up their phones with bloatware and I wish Samsung could deliver updates directly to their customers.

Sadly Samsung doesn't have the kind of relationship with the wireless carriers that Apple does. And I hate to be so pessimistic, but I don't think we will ever see the day that Samsung will be able to take control of their relationship with the carriers.

 

[Kelly Kearns]

Well I'm thinking Samsung has the leverage now in the US for small steps, that is what I'm hoping at least. Yeah they couldn't suddenly be Apple to carriers overnight I don't think.

 

[Ry]

Well people buy their iPhones from carriers too. I'm hoping that Samsung will get to where iPhone is with carriers and skip the carriers with updates and their bloat. I really think they could pull that off now, even if it takes baby steps.

Carriers still lock iPhones. I would rather see the Samsung carrier locks and bypassing carriers for updates etc. I always get my phones unlocked pretty quickly, but there are ways around that if someone can't get the carrier to unlock it.

For me, the biggest plus would be updates outside of the carrier. TMO does the best with the least amount of bloat IMO.

You don't think Samsung could do the same and not isolate carriers since many customers are specifically wanting Samsung?

Latest stats I've seen: https://www.strategyanalytics.com/s...smartphone-volumes-in-us-in-2015#.V8SG0k0rJhE

Basically - 1 out of 10 was an unlocked smartphone. Of that 1, 3 out of 10 for BLU, 1 out of 10 for Apple, 1 out of 10 for Motorola. The other half was everyone else.

Samsung very much lives with the carriers.

And at least with current flagships, updates seem to be faster on carrier versions than the unlocked variant.

 

[Kelly Kearns]

Latest stats I've seen: https://www.strategyanalytics.com/s...smartphone-volumes-in-us-in-2015#.V8SG0k0rJhE

Basically - 1 out of 10 was an unlocked smartphone. Of that 1, 3 out of 10 for BLU, 1 out of 10 for Apple, 1 out of 10 for Motorola. The other half was everyone else.

Samsung very much lives with the carriers.

And at least with current flagships, updates seem to be faster on carrier versions than the unlocked variant.

Oh yeah the lastest updates were better with the carriers, but this is the first time we are experiencing good updates.

I wish the carriers and Samsung would come up with something. Like I said, TMO Samsungs aren't weighted down. Last AT&T Samsung I bought, I swear there were at least 10 apps names AT&T something. Verizon does a ton of changes, some good but not all. Back with gingerbread, AT&T took our ability to edit the icons on the pull-down shade. That was so ridiculous to do.

I just don't like apps installed that I can't uninstall. Sure put your apps on there to show me I case I might like them and never see them, just don't let me not remove what I don't want.

 

[Ry]

..the best thing you can do is take your business elsewhere IMO.

 

[Kelly Kearns]

Well I did that with AT&T. I don't think carriers outside of the US do this for they? Or not to the extent that US carriers do.

 

[Morty2264]

I'm sure I'm not the first person to think this, but I can't help but say that Samsung seems to be distancing itself from Android.
Sure, all of their major U.S. and European flagship phones technically run Android, but it seems clear from interacting with their phones out of the box that they want to distance themselves from Android as much as possible.

I think it is even more than just about Samsung distancing itself from Google's version of Android. I think Samsung is explicitly making an effort to try to be bigger than Android and to be its own brand. I think the company doesn't want to be beholden to Android. Judging by their new UX for their flagships, they don't want people to think Android as the first defining mark of their phones. I think Samsung wants people to think of Samsung as the first thing that defines their phones.

Samsung must be using Android and working with Google to get the Google apps on their phones only because they have to for practical reasons. No phone maker (besides Apple of course) in North America can get away with shipping a phone that doesn't have Google services, and particularly the Google Play Store. So as far as I'm concerned, Samsung only uses Android because it really has to, not because they believe it's important to their success.

It wouldn't surprise me if the top execs at the company were discussing ways of getting rid of Google and Android from the equation in their future flagships. I don't think it's insane to think that they want to control their own destiny.

Does anyone think I'm way off the mark on this suggestion? What does everyone think?

This was a very well thought-out post. You definitely got me thinking about Samsung as more than a manufacturer.

Samsung is so huge. They are arguably the top Android manufacturer right now, and they're almost synonymous with the term "Android." When you go to buy a phone, chances are you'll see a Samsung device on a display shelf - even one that's running that you can fiddle around with.

It wouldn't surprise me if Samsung tried to amp itself up and get more ground covered on their own than with Google... But I don't know how far they would get. Apps and endless possibilities are also why people choose Android - not just for Samsung phones. But who knows, maybe Samsung will one day develop its own app ecosystem and will completely distance itself from Google. If any manufacturer can do that, it's Samsung.

Thanks for the awesome discussion starter!

 

[LeoRex]

It wouldn't surprise me if Samsung tried to amp itself up and get more ground covered on their own than with Google... But I don't know how far they would get.

I personally think they'd get slaughtered. The problem isn't that Samsung couldn't pull it off in a technical sense, but the support would not exist. Google has a massive ecosystem.... all those apps, all those services, that massive infrastructure. If you want to see the challenge that Samsung would have, look no further than Microsoft. If there was any company that had the capabilities to take on either Google or Apple in that space, it was them. But they came too late to the game... and even though they could tempt OEMs and users with tight integration to the most dominant desktop platform in the world. Windows mobile fizzled and went nowhere.

And Samsung doesn't really have those built-in relationships that Redmond had....

Samsung might be the dominant Android player at the moment, but there are plenty of players itching to take them out. If they tried to play funny and break off on their own, I think we'd see a company like Huawei (well, most likely them) move rapidly to fill that void. So all those people would go into their carrier store and hear about how all their stuff most likely wouldn't be available if they stuck with Samsung... but hey... get the Huawei P12 and you'll not miss a beat.

 

[Kelly Kearns]

Oh I can't see Samsung pulling away from Android. They have a really good thing going with Android.