Samsung says new features could come to mid-range phones before flagships
Flashy new features almost always arrive on the most expensive smartphones first, but Samsung may start taking a different approach. DJ Koh, head of Samsung's mobile division, tells CNBC that the company is now focused on differentiating mid-range phones ahead of flagship phones, as sales lag on higher-end models.
"In the past, I brought the new technology and differentiation to the flagship model and then moved to the mid-end. But I have changed my strategy from this year to bring technology and differentiation points starting from the mid-end," Koh told CNBC.
[...] Samsung hasn't avoided bringing higher-end features to mid-range phones — this year's Galaxy A series, for instance, included an 18:9 screen and dual front-facing cameras. But it was going up against phones that offered screens with notches, the clear symbol of a 2018 device. That kind of difference makes it harder to compete with companies like OnePlus, which are quicker to bring these features to mid-range phones.
That all said, Koh told CNBC the changes are really just about "focusing on millennials who cannot afford the flagship."
(Score: 2) by vux984 on Thursday September 06 2018, @04:17PM
weary of phones? sure. ready for wearables? Nope. Not even on my radar as a thing to want.
Wearables. Disposable throat mics. People talking to themselves. Glasses they are looking at instead of through.
Wow... its like you took all the worst aspects of a jackass wearing a bluetooth headset and then cranked it up to 11. :)
And glasses? Do you know how much money people have collectively spent in order NOT to have to wear glasses? Do you know how irritating it is for people who need reading glasses to always have to put them on and take them off and keep them around -- nobody does that because it's an experience they enjoy. I can just see 40-50+ year olds looking for their glasses every time their smart watch vibrates.
Meanwhile, what does it even accomplish... instead of smartphone zombies we get AR zombies wandering around bumbling into lightposts, tripping over dog leashes, and stumbling into traffic? How is that better? If you think AR means people are paying attention to the world around them any better than if they were looking at a smartphonescreen... than I think you'd be wrong. Plus at least with a phone, you can put it away in a symbolic gesture of 'im only paying attention to you now'... a disposable throat mic and something stuck on your glasses is more difficult to put away... especially if you need the glasses to actually see.