I am curious what id the difference in profit margins between selling an unlocked phone vs subsidized phones? Even if carriers pay Samsung to sell their phones, Samsung doesn't have much control with what carriers want on it the way Apple has total control. Samsung bring their best stuff to the States and it is all for naught when Apple still sell iPhones in record numbers and where Samsung has to watch carriers ravage their phones with ugly branding and bloatware.
I believe Samsung should raise the white flag in the United States. Not give on it completely but should use their marketing budget in other countries. They will NEVER win there when it comes to volume sales and profits. Americans are already completely brainwashed with Apple and their ecosystem. Samsung is part of other industries anyway while iPhones has been Apple's bread and butter.
For many years, Nokia (the former #1 volume seller) ignored the U.S. market except sending their cheapie phones. And Nokia was #1 in 1998 surpassing Motorola (globally) and were still on top until 2011 when Microsoft got involved with them. Samsung can still win the premium segment in other continents especially in Asia where the growing middle-class can easily afford $700+ unlocked devices since many people unlike Americans don't need to pay rent or rely on a car. Americans are too dependent with getting subsidized phones because of the many more bills they have to pay for their independence and dependence on credit cards paying in smaller installments.
Samsung should go the Nokia route. Focus on other continents and developing countries where smartphones aren't oversaturated yet. They also need to bring out more compelling lower-end phones and good prices to battle the Chinese and Taiwanese of ASUS and Acer. The lower end is for volume sales, the premium for countries like South Korea, Japan, and Europe is for higher profits.
It is like the The Force Awakens v Avatar box office receipts. Americans focus on domestic numbers and while TFA became NA box office king, Avatar made $2B foreign money which is why it is still #1 while TFA is only #3 globally. I hate Avatar, btw. I love Star Wars. But you can't just focus on solely American money. Star Wars 7 won the battle in the States but lost the World War box office to Avatar. Star Wars is like the Super Bowl / NFL football. An American thing.
Samsung should start focusing more at raking in foreign money since surpassing Apple in the States (where someone like Donald Trump "could" be President) is highly unlikely. Motorola was #1 for years in the States even during the 2000's while Nokia was #1 globally and they rarely were a Top 5 OEM volume seller in the United States.
I gotta disagree on this. Any business should want to expand and grow in profitability. Being number two in the us, a market where people are willing to buy higher priced flagships, isn't being a slouch. Lol at the us being brainwashed by Apple. If anything Samsung needs to focus on actual real support for its products, not a fake kiosk in a Best Buy. It's the support/service that retains apples customer base. It's actual customer service and long term support that is an underlying reason for apples success. I don't think Apple is brainwashing anyone in South Korea yet they're gaining market share there where Samsung is basically a part of government.
While foreign countries may have the middle class willing to spend premium dollars on phones, samsungs challenge is to differentiate itself as being worth it over its own, cheaper competition moreso than Apple. Because whether people like it or not, Apple offers a unique experience, one others can't really duplicate due to Apple owning iOS.