Samsung innovating hard

[MRU]

I don't think I am being defensive as much as not seeing balanced or objective criticism. I think Samsung innovates more than any other smartphone maker. I don't see the criticism or complaints about lack of attention to detail for other OEMs. It seems that complaining about Samsung has become the trendy thing to do. I don't see the objectivity you have for other smartphone makers like say Motorola or Sony. Vanilla Android gets a pass while Samsung gets TW is bloated.
Complaining about app refreshes in every Samsung thread gets a little old after a while. When you yourself admitted in other threads that is was being blown out of proportion and affected very little people. Not very balanced

This was a thread about Samsung innovation not a bitch session about app refreshes.

1. This is a thread about Samsung. Why would we need to bring other manufacturers into it ? That would be pointless and trolling.

2. App refreshes were only brought into discussion as an example of how the current software is letting down the fantastic hardware, and how going forward some of us would like to see innovation concentrated on software rather than hardware.

You really aren't being balanced at all if you want us to discuss other phones in what clearly is a Samsung thread, and if by making a valid and example of how software is letting hardware down - and thats where some of us would like to see Samsung innovate - gets your heckles up and you deem that as an attack on a device when it clearly isn't meant to be - merely an example to a point.

It's really is needlessly and aggressively defensive of you to be blunt.

 

[khha4113]

The Samsung S6 does not have a user removable battery or a memory card slot... do you consider that innovation? Apple has done that all along with the iPhone.

IMO, the "edge" thing on the S6 Edge is a gimmick.

But that's why Baskin-Robbins has 31 flavors - not everyone like the same thing.

Didn't you forget besides S6, Samsung does have other phones with those options but Apple does not. Furthermore, when Samsung removed those options on S6, its base storage started at 32GB other than pitiful 16GB from Apple!

 

[jamezr]

1. This is a thread about Samsung. Why would we need to bring other manufacturers into it ? That would be pointless and trolling.

2. App refreshes were only brought into discussion as an example of how the current software is letting down the fantastic hardware, and how going forward some of us would like to see innovation concentrated on software rather than hardware.

You really aren't being balanced at all if you want us to discuss other phones in what clearly is a Samsung thread, and if by making a valid and example of how software is letting hardware down - and thats where some of us would like to see Samsung innovate - gets your heckles up and you deem that as an attack on a device when it clearly isn't meant to be - merely an example to a point.

It's really is needlessly and aggressively defensive of you to be blunt.

Then you missed my whole point about the other OEMs. Those were just examples of how you give other smartphone a pass on their shortcomings but harp Samsungs.
Now who is being decensive?

Now let's get back n topic to discussing Samsung innovation.

Rumor has it Samsung will have a foldable screens in 2016!

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Didn't you forget besides S6, Samsung does have other phones with those options but Apple does not. Furthermore, when Samsung removed those options on S6, its base storage started at 32GB other than pitiful 16GB from Apple!

Storage options for any device are not what I would call innovation as such, but developing a good cloud service where users can buy a phone and take advantage of another part of the product is clever IMO. Plus in Apples case they lowered the price of the 64GB unit so those of us wanting 32GB actually got double the storage for the same price. Not so pitiful when that detail is considered. How good btw is Samsung's own cloud service?

 

[AZhappyjack]

Didn't you forget besides S6, Samsung does have other phones with those options but Apple does not. Furthermore, when Samsung removed those options on S6, its base storage started at 32GB other than pitiful 16GB from Apple!

I was merely pointing out that Samsung's "next big thing" is following Apple's lead (again). Not looking to get into a pi$$ing match... just making an observation. #militantSamsungArmyPleaseStandDown

 

[jamezr]

Didn't you forget besides S6, Samsung does have other phones with those options but Apple does not. Furthermore, when Samsung removed those options on S6, its base storage started at 32GB other than pitiful 16GB from Apple!

Then Samsung is leading the way in creating faster storage and faster ram. So much so Apple uses mostly Samsung parts in the iPhone.
It's funny how people complain about Samsung doing what Apple has done all along.

I Don't think Samsung has a cloud service. But then their so many great cross platform in expensive options available it doesn't matter.

 

[spinedoc77]

1. This is a thread about Samsung. Why would we need to bring other manufacturers into it ? That would be pointless and trolling.

2. App refreshes were only brought into discussion as an example of how the current software is letting down the fantastic hardware, and how going forward some of us would like to see innovation concentrated on software rather than hardware.

You really aren't being balanced at all if you want us to discuss other phones in what clearly is a Samsung thread, and if by making a valid and example of how software is letting hardware down - and thats where some of us would like to see Samsung innovate - gets your heckles up and you deem that as an attack on a device when it clearly isn't meant to be - merely an example to a point.

It's really is needlessly and aggressively defensive of you to be blunt.

I think it wouldn't make sense to NOT discuss other companies besides Samsung. The thread would be quite lame as obviously it's intention is to compare the innovation of Samsung to other companies, not internally to itself.

 

[MRU]

I think it wouldn't make sense to NOT discuss other companies besides Samsung. The thread would be quite lame as obviously it's intention is to compare the innovation of Samsung to other companies, not internally to itself.

Yeah I can see your POV generally - just it doesn't need to be turned into anther Apple v Samsung thread as we have certainly had enough of them. I was mainly just making the point that my opinion on where I think Samsung should innovate next - didn't necessitate any other OEM being brought into it in that regard as it was software focussed not hardware.

 

[Fernandez21]

People seem to hold Samsung to a different standard than other OEMs. Things they complain Samsung should do they do not expect from other OEMs.

That comes with the territory of being as big as they are, when you have as many resources at your disposal as Samsung has and charge a premium for your hardware, you'll be under a harsher microsope.

That's one of the reasons I was always so disappointed with Samsung and their plastic designs of the past, and while I love my Note 4, it's frustrating it doesn't have the same software as the S6, would love to use the material theme, and knowing that when I get a Note 5, I'll probably have to wait 3-4 months before I get android m, and even then who knows how well it will perform.

Also, I feel it's important that people let these criticism's out, while it may get tyring to see especially if it's something you don't care about, this gives the company's some direction in where to go. You think Apple would've made a larger iPhone with out people constantly complaining about the small screen? Or would the S6 be as beautiful as it is with people complaining of the cheap plastic?

Samsung has come a long way, and they're engineering is top notch, software wise they have great ideas but struggle to execute. Hopefully with enough pressure they'll get this right too.

 

[khha4113]

I was merely pointing out that Samsung's "next big thing" is following Apple's lead (again). Not looking to get into a pi$$ing match... just making an observation. #militantSamsungArmyPleaseStandDown

"Pi$$ing Match"??? I was merely pointing out your failure of mentioning choices in which Samsung provides. So, any time that anyone shows Apple's lack of features or options being considered as "pi$$ing contest" by its fans! Got it!

 

[AZhappyjack]

"Pi$$ing Match"??? I was merely pointing out your failure of mentioning choices in which Samsung provides. So, any time that anyone shows Apple's lack of features or options being considered as "pi$$ing contest" by its fans! Got it!

No. "Pi$$ing Match" in the sense of arguing with a moron who wants to argue just for the sake of arguing. Not going to do it. You like Samsung? Fine with me. You think Apple is the devil? Fine with me. Use what you want. I do. So just stop trying to start something that isn't there and isn't going to happen. Moving on. SMFH

 

[Technarchy]

Samsung is not just a phone maker. They area massive semiconductor and R&D house that dwarfs everyone else in the mobile industry.

In context Samsung's tech is in everyone's devices, while Samsung can fab their products mostly on their own tech.

 

[Abazigal]

Didn't you forget besides S6, Samsung does have other phones with those options but Apple does not. Furthermore, when Samsung removed those options on S6, its base storage started at 32GB other than pitiful 16GB from Apple!

So innovation is just giving more storage? In that case, isn't Apple innovative for offering a 64gb phone at the same price as the previous 32gb model? Likewise, there is nothing stopping me from skipping the 16gb iPhone and purchasing a 64gb or 128gb iPhone.

A larger starting storage size of 32gb phone might help S6 owners, but it does nothing for users of older Samsung phones, all of which are still running Touchwiz with all its bloat and storage-hungry apps.

Conversely, look at what Apple is doing. They are actually investing all that time and resources into making their OS and apps take up less space. This benefits every iOS device ever sold, from the latest iPhone 6 with 128gb of storage to even the 16gb iPhone 4s sold 4 years ago. Apps download faster, take up less space, and consume less bandwidth.

So when iOS 9 is released later this year and developers start taking advantage of features like app slicing, I should be able to recoup some storage on my existing devices, like my iPad mini 2 and iPhone 5s. Good luck to that consumer still using a Note 4 from last year.

Complaining that Apple doesn't offer a 32gb phone, while ignoring everything else that consumers can do (like purchasing a phone with more storage), as well as what Apple is doing to remedy this issue, strikes me as being incredibly myopic and superficial, IMO.

 

[Abazigal]

Samsung is not just a phone maker. They area massive semiconductor and R&D house that dwarfs everyone else in the mobile industry.

In context Samsung's tech is in everyone's devices, while Samsung can fab their products mostly on their own tech.

And I think therein lies Samsung's greatest strength, and its biggest weakness.

Controlling your own hardware the way Samsung does is great for instances where like Qualcomm screwed up their Snapdragon 810 chip. You don't have to wait for other companies to improve their own hardware, and you are not at the mercy of their release cycles (like how Apple is dependent on Intel for their processors).

However, I feel that the advantage from this is rapidly fading, as more and more phones are quickly becoming "good enough". I am not saying that specs don't matter, but they matter up to the point where your phone functions smoothly. Storage speeds only matter if you are very sensitive to the speeds at which your apps load, for instance.

It also doesn't account for the fact that other competitors can also manufacture equivalent, if not better hardware.

Software is one great differentiator Apple has over Android, and Samsung historically lacks control over its own software. In the end, Samsung is just another Android vendor, much as it would like to give the impression of being the "only Android vendor worth considering".

So yes, while credit could and should be given to Samsung for the quality of their hardware (I think Apple users traditionally prefer Samsung SSDs over Toshiba ones in their MacBooks), I don't think it is an advantage that allows Samsung to differentiate themselves meaningfully from their competitors. Samsung is getting horribly commoditised in the smartphone market, especially to OEMs like Xiaomi who are able to sell "good enough" hardware at vastly cheaper prices.

 

[Klyster]

A larger starting storage size of 32gb phone might help S6 owners, but it does nothing for users of older Samsung phones, all of which are still running Touchwiz with all its bloat and storage-hungry apps.

Conversely, look at what Apple is doing. They are actually investing all that time and resources into making their OS and apps take up less space. This benefits every iOS device ever sold, from the latest iPhone 6 with 128gb of storage to even the 16gb iPhone 4s sold 4 years ago. Apps download faster, take up less space, and consume less bandwidth.

Older Samsung phone users can pop an SD card in and move apps to the card if they want, depending on model an android version.

Every ios device would include models before the iphone 4 too so really it's just a select amount of ios devices, not all.

Where's the metric to compare what apple is doing to ios vs what samsung is doing to Touchwiz? It's not like Samsung set out to make core apps as large as possible, and they have no control over developers who place their apps on google play.

Samsung development and innovation is usually done in house, not always but usually.

Apple development and innovation is usually purchased.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I'm reading some of these comments and I think it needs to be asked;

'what do people here define as innovation?'

It's clear some have a very basic grasp of what it actually is and I'd be interested to know what people think it is.

 

[Klyster]

I'm reading some of these comments and I think it needs to be asked;

'what do people here define as innovation?'

It's clear some have a very basic grasp of what it actually is and I'd be interested to know what people think it is.

Well kick things off, what's your definition of innovation?

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Well kick things off, what's your definition of innovation?

Innovation is a very broad definition. It can be anything from inventing a technology, service, process, to leading the direction of delivering something unique. I'm a design engineer and my company work for clients that outsource development to us. We have very strict briefs and are under no illusions that our direction is heavily guided by the customer. At present I am working for Adidas and although I may deliver new methods, it is still done under their brand and direction. This is how innovation is managed. The customer/manufacturer has to be in control and know what they want regardless of whether they do everything in-house or not.

Look at the car industry for example where there is perhaps very few cars on the planet that manufacture every aspect of a vehicle. Innovation is bought or outsourced but also compliant with what is desired by the marque. BMW are being applauded for being the first car company to produce vehicles with 'Laser Light Technology'. Did they personally develop the technology themselves? No they didn't, they employed a partner OSRAM to do that, but they collaborated and lead the innovation. Mobile phone companies employ very similar tactics and for very good reason. It saves money and broadens the input. My Samsung television contains technology produced by LG, my iPhone contains microchips developed by Samsung under license by Apple etc etc.

This is why I ask the question. 'What do people define as innovation'? From reading many of the posts I think far too much emphasis is placed on a very basic form. Unless a company initially comes up with the conception and develops it all in-house until it reaches the customers hands, they somehow can't be credited with innovating for many here. That is false and if more people understood how the design process works and how products are developed, we would not have many of these tit for tat exchanges where people assume one company is superior because of what they produce.

Samsung are a huge company that make a massive contribution to many of the products we use day to day. Nobody is ever going to dispute that.

 

[Klyster]

While I don't disagree with you I do feel Samsung seem to be seen as copycats, who have no vision, lacking innovation.

When a company like Osram work with a company like BMW on a light method, I wouldn't say BMW are leading the way rather than both companies are leading the way as BMW obviously know what they want but probably cannot achieve results without the innovation Osram produced.

I guess they are the innovators applying the lighting method to the automotive industry.

That's a good example to illustrate how I see Apple with a lot of thier innovations, purchasing an almost finished product and incorporating into whatever they intend it to be in whether it be phone, laptop, tablet, car etc.

I'm sure this happens with Samsung too.

This thread is about Samsung and their apparent lead in innovation and while I feel they do innovate a lot, I don't feel like they are the kings of innovation so to speak.
They're certainly up there though.

They do try some whacky stuff from time to time, and sometimes it pays off.
Sometimes they hit the nail on the head.

Apple are similar in that respect, they tend to be more focused as seem to try less whacky stuff.
They do seem to wait until their product is more polished, so they usually hit the nail on the head.

But who innovates more?
I have no idea but I wouldn't be saying either are resting on their respective innovative laurels....

 

[I7guy]

I'm reading some of these comments and I think it needs to be asked;

'what do people here define as innovation?'

It's clear some have a very basic grasp of what it actually is and I'd be interested to know what people think it is.

Good question. I'm going to leave this to the impartial inter-webs.

http://www.fastcompany.com/section/most-innovative-companies-2015

http://www.forbes.com/innovative-companies/list/

 

[jamezr]

Now getting back on topic.

Samsung foldable screen phones and tablets coming 2016?

 

[scott craft]

Now getting back on topic.

Samsung foldable screen phones and tablets coming 2016?

That is pretty slick! When that makes it into a mass produced phone that will definitely be great for us consumers.

 

[grkm3]

Samsung makes there own things and leads the market because of it.when it comes to pure hardware not even Intel can top Samsung now.

They have produced 10nm working chips and the note 5 (I hope in time) or the gs7 will use there new first ever soc that has the GPU, CPU, modem,ram and nand storage built-in into the one single chip.

No one has that done yet but Samsung has pulled it off.

The next exynos is going to be amazing from a hardware point if view.

 

[spinedoc77]

Yeah I can see your POV generally - just it doesn't need to be turned into anther Apple v Samsung thread as we have certainly had enough of them. I was mainly just making the point that my opinion on where I think Samsung should innovate next - didn't necessitate any other OEM being brought into it in that regard as it was software focussed not hardware.

Lol, I thought everything on these forums turned into an Apple versus ... thread. I don't think there is very much hope that this will not turn into one as well, as much as I agree with you that it shouldnq

Now getting back on topic.

Samsung foldable screen phones and tablets coming 2016?

This is completely nuts, and to think we are 1-2 years away from something like this. Samsung will leapfrog everyone else if they come out with this.

 

[Sevanw]

Good question. I'm going to leave this to the impartial inter-webs.

http://www.fastcompany.com/section/most-innovative-companies-2015

http://www.forbes.com/innovative-companies/list/

Here's another list of most innovative companies as defined by some impartial inter-webs website. Do I win because I found a website that supports my view too? Something tells me when you were on your little adventure to find a list of most innovative companies, you saw this list and quickly ignored it.

http://www.businessinsider.com/most-innovative-company-not-apple-2015-6