"It's not a phone, it's a Galaxy"

[Andres Cantu]

and I'm sure you've heard the old saying that had Henry Ford asked early customers what they wanted they would have said a faster horse. I'm paraphrasing the saying but it holds true here.

Reality is the battery on the Note 5 is impressive and there's no need to swap it. Add in wireless and super fast charging and it's really not needed.

SD Card wise, I was resistant at first, but then I started to see how little I needed it and realized that it's not necessary. I have over 700 songs on my phone, several movies, nearly 5,000 contacts/customers - way too many really....and I still have over 36gb of free space on my 64mb phone.

I have really no need to keep my photos there as mine syncs to Google and my own WDMyCloud at home at the same time. YMMV though.

It's great that things work out for you, but there are others who rely on removable SD cards and batteries for whatever reason. If they decide to bring those back, the reviews will praise Samsung and they will have that advantage in their belt. It's really a no-brainer.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I still disagree. And your chart shows a steeper decline for Samsung, 11% over 3 year period, while Apple had about a 3% decline in the same period.

Nothing lasts forever but it's really absurd to think Samsung is ok with lower earnings every quarter oh but they're building a household name which they already had.

That's because in many countries, the iPhone barely makes a dent in the market share and is Android dominated. So the competition affects Android manufacturers the most when talking about percentage loss. A good example would be India. iOS devices count for less than 5 million while Android devices count for more than 57 million. Apple is too niche of a market over there to feel the burn from competitors.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

and I'm sure you've heard the old saying that had Henry Ford asked early customers what they wanted they would have said a faster horse. I'm paraphrasing the saying but it holds true here.

Reality is the battery on the Note 5 is impressive and there's no need to swap it. Add in wireless and super fast charging and it's really not needed.

SD Card wise, I was resistant at first, but then I started to see how little I needed it and realized that it's not necessary. I have over 700 songs on my phone, several movies, nearly 5,000 contacts/customers - way too many really....and I still have over 36gb of free space on my 64mb phone.

I have really no need to keep my photos there as mine syncs to Google and my own WDMyCloud at home at the same time. YMMV though.

I feel the same way. Plus I have a very small finger nail sized 64gb 3.0 USB OTG drive. I would only want a micro sd slot as long as it's implemented externally like the sim slot. But with or without, doesn't matter much to me.

 

[Truefan31]

That's because in many countries, the iPhone barely makes a dent in the market share and is Android dominated. So the competition affects Android manufacturers the most when talking about percentage loss. A good example would be India. iOS devices count for less than 5 million while Android devices count for more than 57 million. Apple is too niche of a market over there to feel the burn from competitors.

So the point of the chart is what exactly? I never said Apple was immune, but that it's not affected as much by the mid tier android devices than Samsung. That chart illustrates that. And I'm willing to bet it'll grow for Apple, while Samsung is still figuring out what to do.

The moto x pure is a really good phone for 400 dollars. And it's customizable, very appealing. It's these phones that really hurt the galaxy line, along with the one plus 2, xiaomi, meizu, huauwei, etc. not to mention the lg, Sony of the world too.

Samsung spends way too much time comparing to Apple. It hurts them more than anything, and it's free press for Apple.

 

[pdqgp]

It's great that things work out for you, but there are others who rely on removable SD cards and batteries for whatever reason. If they decide to bring those back, the reviews will praise Samsung and they will have that advantage in their belt. It's really a no-brainer.

I said YMMV but even still I can't see more than a very small single digit percent of users that are unable to carry a even a small battery pack let alone even really need it. I'm in sales and an extreme power user and often times go 5-6hrs at a stretch without power. I eventually am in a car, eat lunch or even shower at a hotel and can grab 20% via a 20 minute charge time. Not that I even need to though.

Removable media.....there too, who is actually USING more than 30gb of files that they really can't get OTA via Cloud. Really? Again, power user of all kinds of files that I'm sending clients but I do so via cloud. No way and no need to have a file on my phone when I can hit MSOne Drive, Sharepoint, Box or Google and share a link. I use them all and then some with ease.

I also travel and keep 4-5 movies on my phone. Even HD Ones are only 2-2.5GB at most.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

So the point of the chart is what exactly?

The point of the chart was for who I was responding to. Read their quote for clarification.

I never said Apple was immune, but that it's not affected as much by the mid tier android devices than Samsung. That chart illustrates that. And I'm willing to bet it'll grow for Apple, while Samsung is still figuring out what to do.

The moto x pure is a really good phone for 400 dollars. And it's customizable, very appealing. It's these phones that really hurt the galaxy line, along with the one plus 2, xiaomi, meizu, huauwei, etc. not to mention the lg, Sony of the world too.

Again, they are not considered such competition in America and other westernized countries. Go back and look at Samsung's market share. Even with the 11% loss, it's still amazingly dominant worldwide.

Samsung spends way too much time comparing to Apple. It hurts them more than anything, and it's free press for Apple.

Actually, Samsung's strategy hasn't hurt them. With probably the exception of the S5(not to sure), Samsung Galaxy flagship phones have sold more than each previous year since the S2. You can't equate loss of market share to loss of sales. The smartphone market is still growing rapidly in sales every year.

 

[Truefan31]

The point of the chart was for who I was responding to. Read their quote for clarification.



Again, they are not considered such competition in America and other westernized countries. Go back and look at Samsung's market share. Even with the 11% loss, it's still amazingly dominant worldwide.



Actually, Samsung's strategy hasn't hurt them. With probably the exception of the S5(not to sure), Samsung Galaxy flagship phones have sold more than each previous year since the S2. You can't equate loss of market share to loss of sales. The smartphone market is still growing rapidly in sales every year.

So multiple consecutive quarters of declining profit isn't concerning Samsung? I find that hard to believe. Hence the change in management and the revamped s6/s6 edge. Unfortunately they're still not selling as much as predicted.

It's unfortunate that Samsung basically released like 6 galaxy phones in the year since the 6/6 plus yet they haven't been able to stop the bleeding. Was the note 4 released after the 6 plus? They release the s6 and s6 edge, they supposedly didn't sell as well due to a shortage of the edge. Then they release the note 5 earlier than normal, no doubt to beat the iPhone imo, but you don't release it in Europe, a huge market. It screams being unfocused.

 

[Tsepz]

Those features are pretty neat, and I agree they were the first. The advantage Apple has is that you don't need a stylus or pen to do these things anymore, so you don't have to be taking it out and putting it back.

We do not need a stylus for them. Hover, peak etc... Were done without a stylus in the S4 with all the sensors it had.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Huawei Mate S has 3D Touch if I am not mistaken.

Apple certainly did not do a phablet better, the Note series still offer better One Hand usage options, and despite larger displays remain smaller than the 6 Plus and 6S Plus.

The iPad Pro Apple Pencil requires plugging the Pencil in while the Note series have a sylo that wirelessly charges the SPen and reminds you if you leave it by mistake.

NFC, lol, I am not even going to bother, Apple has a long way to go.

Widgets, again, Apple did not implement these in the brilliant way Android has.

So, NO, it is not a fact that when Apple does it they do it better, sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.

There must be people that disagree with everything you say here or we'd all be on Android using the Note series lol. Apple has an appeal and better at this level is in the eye of the beholder due to subjective needs.

I think a massive part of the global market consists of users who enjoy the standard smartphone tasks. The iPhone can compete with that and Apple has the brand power Samsung doesn't. The iPhone has a cult status whereas the Galaxy range doesn't so the catch up game continues to be played. This doesn't mean Samsung makes poor phones, they are just not as popular as the iPhone at the high end.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

So multiple consecutive quarters of declining profit isn't concerning Samsung? I find that hard to believe. Hence the change in management and the revamped s6/s6 edge. Unfortunately they're still not selling as much as predicted.

It's unfortunate that Samsung basically released like 6 galaxy phones in the year since the 6/6 plus yet they haven't been able to stop the bleeding. Was the note 4 released after the 6 plus? They release the s6 and s6 edge, they supposedly didn't sell as well due to a shortage of the edge. Then they release the note 5 earlier than normal, no doubt to beat the iPhone imo, but you don't release it in Europe, a huge market. It screams being unfocused.

And this is why I stated over and over in previous posts ..... They are focused on branding. Trying to predict smartphone demand is very hard without being a brand that can actually dictate demand.

They actually underestimated the S6 Edge. Distributors demand more Galaxy S6 edge units, Samsung runs out of touchscreen panels So you're half correct.

The new line of Galaxy phones will no doubt help with sales with the S7 and Note 6 releases.

 

[MRU]

And this is why I stated over and over in previous posts ..... They are focused on branding. Trying to predict smartphone demand is very hard without being a brand that can actually dictate demand.

They actually underestimated the S6 Edge. Distributors demand more Galaxy S6 edge units, Samsung runs out of touchscreen panels So you're half correct.

The new line of Galaxy phones will no doubt help with sales with the S7 and Note 6 releases.

I do wonder over the legitimacy of that article though or whether it was only representative of first couple of weeks sales simply because subsequently they slashed the price of the device dramatically and the amount of devices on second hand market peaked devaluing them dramatically. Now even the Edge Plus is plummeting price wise and resale value wise that you would assume if there was such a high demand for both the edge and edge plus Samsung and retailers would not have slashed prices as harshly and demand in second hand market would still be outstripping supply and yet it's completely the reverse. There's more for sale than appears demand.

I love my Edge Plus but I would never have paid full retail especially after the collapse in price and seeming disinterest in the standard edge.

32gb Edge is selling for around 400 euro here now on second hand market (despite users selling new sealed units) and 550 new. Compared to the 849 euro it originally retailed for. If demand was so high you would have thought it wouldn't have lost 50% of its value in 6 months.

 

[Truefan31]

And this is why I stated over and over in previous posts ..... They are focused on branding. Trying to predict smartphone demand is very hard without being a brand that can actually dictate demand.

They actually underestimated the S6 Edge. Distributors demand more Galaxy S6 edge units, Samsung runs out of touchscreen panels So you're half correct.

The new line of Galaxy phones will no doubt help with sales with the S7 and Note 6 releases.

And my point is they already had their branding. This isn't some startup mobile company. This is Samsung, known worldwide for years. They've been in mobile far longer than most others. The fledgling sales of the galaxy line are why Samsung are said to be slashing prices to hopefully boost sales. That's not building a brand. That's trying to recoup your investment any way possible. Slashing prices doesn't portray any brand as a better household name.

I hope for samsungs sake they turn it around with the s7. The rumor is it'll release early yet again. Too many models already. People here were saying how the s6/edge and note 5/s6 edge plus were gonna sell like hot cakes. Doesn't look like it to me. And it'll be hard to grow profit when you release new flagships every 4 months. They should focus on marketing why they're better than other android handsets, why spending extra is worth it vs the cheaper android handsets. Because they're not hurting Apple it seems. Another record weekend is rumored for the 6s/6s plus, when some said Apple would struggle.

 

[Truefan31]

I do wonder over the legitimacy of that article though or whether it was only representative of first couple of weeks sales simply because subsequently they slashed the price of the device dramatically and the amount of devices on second hand market peaked devaluing them dramatically. Now even the Edge Plus is plummeting price wise and resale value wise that you would assume if there was such a high demand for both the edge and edge plus Samsung and retailers would not have slashed prices as harshly and demand in second hand market would still be outstripping supply and yet it's completely the reverse. There's more for sale than appears demand.

I love my Edge Plus but I would never have paid full retail especially after the collapse in price and seeming disinterest in the standard edge.

32gb Edge is selling for around 400 euro here now on second hand market (despite users selling new sealed units) and 550 new. Compared to the 849 euro it originally retailed for. If demand was so high you would have thought it wouldn't have lost 50% of its value in 6 months.

Ugh that's quite a big drop for what 5 months?

That's what people don't get. iPhones have higher resale value because they're in demand more.

It's really a bad cycle for Samsung. You buy a s6, oh there's a s6 edge too though. Now a couple months later there's a s6 active. Now a couple months later there's a note 5, oh a s6 edge plus too. Now if the s7 comes in jan now in like 8 months your nice s6 or s6 edge is like 3 models behind.

 

[pdqgp]

Too many models already. People here were saying how the s6/edge and note 5/s6 edge plus were gonna sell like hot cakes. Doesn't look like it to me. And it'll be hard to grow profit when you release new flagships every 4 months. They should focus on marketing why they're better than other android handsets, why spending extra is worth it vs the cheaper android handsets. Because they're not hurting Apple it seems. Another record weekend is rumored for the 6s/6s plus, when some said Apple would struggle.

Part of the reason they don't sell is there's really no need to upgrade. Their phones are strong enough and feature rich enough that even with my latest purchase it was more of a whim and desire than a need. My Note 3 works fine still, I just really was out and wanted to buy a new shiny sparkly thing.

A HUGE part of it is name and brand. Ask any teenager what kind of shoes they want and they will tell you a brand that's hot. In optical its Ray Ban even though there are better made frames and even more stylish ones. People always seem to say that's the brand they want and often will admit others are nicer "but they aren't Ray Ban." Ugh....it's just mainly branding.

 

[Andres Cantu]

I do wonder over the legitimacy of that article though or whether it was only representative of first couple of weeks sales simply because subsequently they slashed the price of the device dramatically and the amount of devices on second hand market peaked devaluing them dramatically. Now even the Edge Plus is plummeting price wise and resale value wise that you would assume if there was such a high demand for both the edge and edge plus Samsung and retailers would not have slashed prices as harshly and demand in second hand market would still be outstripping supply and yet it's completely the reverse. There's more for sale than appears demand.

I love my Edge Plus but I would never have paid full retail especially after the collapse in price and seeming disinterest in the standard edge.

32gb Edge is selling for around 400 euro here now on second hand market (despite users selling new sealed units) and 550 new. Compared to the 849 euro it originally retailed for. If demand was so high you would have thought it wouldn't have lost 50% of its value in 6 months.

You are exactly correct. The laws of economics do not lie. If the price is reduced, it's because demand isn't so great. I cannot understand why some people don't see that.

And my point is they already had their branding. This isn't some startup mobile company. This is Samsung, known worldwide for years. They've been in mobile far longer than most others. The fledgling sales of the galaxy line are why Samsung are said to be slashing prices to hopefully boost sales. That's not building a brand. That's trying to recoup your investment any way possible. Slashing prices doesn't portray any brand as a better household name.

I hope for samsungs sake they turn it around with the s7. The rumor is it'll release early yet again. Too many models already. People here were saying how the s6/edge and note 5/s6 edge plus were gonna sell like hot cakes. Doesn't look like it to me. And it'll be hard to grow profit when you release new flagships every 4 months. They should focus on marketing why they're better than other android handsets, why spending extra is worth it vs the cheaper android handsets. Because they're not hurting Apple it seems. Another record weekend is rumored for the 6s/6s plus, when some said Apple would struggle.

That DOES have something to do with it. As a customer, you want your phone to be current for at least one year. Samsung is known for releasing a new phone that beats its flagships around six months after they're released. You gotta imagine that hurts consumer confidence. Why bother with one model when a new one is always around the corner earlier than, for example, an iPhone?

Can you imagine what would happen if Apple released an iPhone 6s-X or something in the Spring? They would never hear the end of it. The closest it's been to that was the iPad 4, and they did get some backlash, but it would have been much worse had it been an iPhone.

If they keep releasing their Galaxy S devices one month earlier every year, they're eventually gonna release one in January 2017 and December 2017. I don't see that happening, so my bet is that they'll stick to February at the earliest. It seems they like to release their Galaxy S devices after the iPhone so they can be prepared for somewhat unexpected features (like Siri and Touch ID) and release their own versions (S-Voice and swipe fingerprint sensor).

 

[Andres Cantu]

The iPhone 6s's RAM management is awesome! The Galaxy S6 had to reload all apps while the iPhone did not, even the three games (even though the Galaxy S6 has an extra gig of RAM). The camera was more accurate on the iPhone as well, and the video recording was no comparison.

Can't wait for PhoneBuff's iPhone 6s vs Galaxy S6 comparison

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

And my point is they already had their branding. This isn't some startup mobile company. This is Samsung, known worldwide for years. They've been in mobile far longer than most others. The fledgling sales of the galaxy line are why Samsung are said to be slashing prices to hopefully boost sales. That's not building a brand. That's trying to recoup your investment any way possible. Slashing prices doesn't portray any brand as a better household name.

And the my point as stated many times in previous posts is ........the average person did not think of Samsung if you mentioned the word "Smartphones" to them just several years ago.

It's like how Sony, MS and Nintendo are household names when you mention "Gaming consoles". No matter how big of a brand Samsung is, they will not automatically become a known console brand overnight unless they are aggressive and/or implement new technologies.

Same goes for being known as the top Smartphone brand. They didn't even expect as many sales as they got with the S6 edge, but they released it anyways. Why do you think that is? Cause something that different is the best advertisement they can have for Samsung's name to be an instant thought when the word "smartphone" is mentioned.

I disagree with your argument of Samsung's brand being hurt cause of slashing prices. Getting your product in the hands of as many people as possible only builds your brand.

 

[soco]

Really, Samsung? That's the best line you could come up with in your latest ad? It doesn't even make logical sense

Customers know and understand that the iPhone does not have wireless charging, but there are ways to showcase how useful the feature could be rather than just saying we have it and the iPhone doesn't. They don't seem to understand that it's not always all about the iPhone.

When they directly display the iPhone in their ads, it's basically free advertisement for Apple. They can't win by attacking the iPhone in that way, because comparisons make them look desperate (Yes, the iPhone is the iPhone, but look! It doesn't have this, haha!).

They need to forget the iPhone comparisons and showcase their product's strengths for once.

Honestly, it's just a bad look to constantly be comparing yourself to your competitor.

It only serves to solidify the divide, not convert those on either side.

 

[Andres Cantu]

And the my point as stated many times in previous posts is ........the average person did not think of Samsung if you mentioned the word "Smartphones" to them just several years ago.

It's like how Sony, MS and Nintendo are household names when you mention "Gaming consoles". No matter how big of a brand Samsung is, they will not automatically become a known console brand overnight unless they are aggressive and/or implement new technologies.

Same goes for being known as the top Smartphone brand. They didn't even expect as many sales as they got with the S6 edge, but they released it anyways. Why do you think that is? Cause something that different is the best advertisement they can have for Samsung's name to be an instant thought when the word "smartphone" is mentioned.

I disagree with your argument of Samsung's brand being hurt cause of slashing prices. Getting your product in the hands of as many people as possible only builds your brand.

I'm no psychologist, but I would think that when somebody slashes prices it's because they're not confident that the current price is good enough. Imagine how people would view the iPhone brand if they discounted them $200 after a couple of months.

Honestly, it's just a bad look to constantly be comparing yourself to your competitor.

It only serves to solidify the divide, not convert those on either side.

Completely agree with you. That is one of the points I wanted to make in this thread.

 

[soco]

Completely agree with you. That is one of the points I wanted to make in this thread.

To be fair, they're definitely at a point now where they're trying to retain current Samsung customers by outright bashing Apple, and trying to bring those who don't already have iPhones into the family.

I just don't like the smug and childish attitude in their advertising.

 

[Andres Cantu]

To be fair, they're definitely at a point now where they're trying to retain current Samsung customers by outright bashing Apple, and trying to bring those who don't already have iPhones into the family.

I just don't like the smug and childish attitude in their advertising.

I don't like it either. It's not classy at all. Not all their advertisements were like that.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I'm no psychologist, but I would think that when somebody slashes prices it's because they're not confident that the current price is good enough. Imagine how people would view the iPhone brand if they discounted them $200 after a couple of months.

Apple's business model is not a normal. It works for Apple, but damn near most other companies would shoot themselves in the foot if they tried to follow. With the exception of Apple, slashing prices is the norm in technology. Price slashing is more in the mobile world due to it's nature.

S6 edge has been out almost 6 months now. Retailers couldn't even keep it in stock at first. With the S6 edge+ and the Note 5 now released, it only makes sense to slash the price on the S6/S6 edge. Everybody would be arguing how stupid it is to retain it's initial selling price.

Critics are quick to bash Samsung for directly competing against Apple, but the same ones expect them to retain it's price value like Apple. Nobody complains when Google does the same with it's Nexus devices. Nexus 6 was slashed at $150 and they don't even have any newer models out. You will be hard pressed not to find any manufacturer besides Apple than doesn't do the same. So why is Samsung getting all the criticism?

 

[Andres Cantu]

Apple's business model is not a normal. It works for Apple, but damn near most other companies would shoot themselves in the foot if they tried to follow. With the exception of Apple, slashing prices is the norm in technology. Price slashing is more in the mobile world due to it's nature.

S6 edge has been out almost 6 months now. Retailers couldn't even keep it in stock at first. With the S6 edge+ and the Note 5 now released, it only makes sense to slash the price on the S6/S6 edge. Everybody would be arguing how stupid it is to retain it's initial selling price.

Critics are quick to bash Samsung for directly competing against Apple, but the same ones expect them to retain it's price value like Apple. Nobody complains when Google does the same with it's Nexus devices. Nexus 6 was slashed at $150 and they don't even have any newer models out. You will be hard pressed not to find any manufacturer besides Apple than doesn't do the same. So why is Samsung getting all the criticism?

I guess that's the price they have to pay for setting themselves up as the brand for anti-Apple and for pricing their phones higher than last year.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I guess that's the price they have to pay for setting themselves up as the brand for anti-Apple and for pricing their phones higher than last year.

But they are not paying a price, they have gotten more mainstream notoriety this past year then probably the last 5 years combined. I don't see that as losing at all.

 

[Andres Cantu]

But they are not paying a price, they have gotten more mainstream notoriety this past year then probably the last 5 years combined. I don't see that as losing at all.

Maybe not on that front, but how about their stock? It used to be around $1,500 back in the Galaxy S3 days and now it's only $900.