Samsung will announce its next
flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S IV, next month on March 14. We know this
because the company said so — an act simultaneously like and unlike the
approach by its chief mobile rival, Apple.
Apply typically doesn't say anything about what
it's going to unveil, preferring instead to shroud its events with false
mystery — false because everyone always knows what Apple products are coming
through rumors and leaks, even if they don't know the details. And Apple may
tease (it did so with the iPhone 5, sending invites with a large "5"
on them), but almost never pre-announces anything.
That's why Samsung giving the name of the product
in advance isn't like Apple, but the fact that it's choosing to unveil a major
product at its own marquee event is very Apple-like. Samsung is now the top
smartphone maker worldwide, and its unveilings rightly command attention
comparable to Apple's.
Even though Samsung's Galaxy
phones lead all other Android models, the iPhone 5 is still the single most
popular phone in the world. Samsung has come a long way since it was primarily
known for appliances, but it's still in second place.
Nevertheless, there's no question it has the momentum. With the Galaxy S IV, it
has an opportunity to do what seemed impossible less than a year ago: Overtake
the iPhone as the No. 1 smartphone in the world (something it briefly did last
year). Samsung can actually beat Apple at its own game.
However, Apple didn't rise to the top of the mobile world by accident. The
iPhone still delivers one of the best experiences in smartphones, with a
well-rounded ecosystem, and the hardware is beautiful. Samsung's Galaxy line
doesn't have quite have all the pieces of the puzzle, but it could get there
with the S IV. Here's how.
1.
Bring on the Magic
Apple likes to toss around the
word "magical" to describe its products, and although that's mostly
Kool-Aid, there's some justification for it. Apple has done a good job of
injecting the "wow" factor into its mobile products for the past six
years, and although Android has caught up to a large extent in the last year
with Jelly Bean, Apple was the one who pioneered many of the things that we take
for granted in a mobile experience, such as fluid animation that responds
instantly to touch.
Although it's harder to wow mobile users today, a few people are doing it. The
screen of the new BlackBerry Z10, for example, uses sensors to detect finger swipes
even in sleep mode, letting you wake it up without touching any physical
buttons.
That's the kind of magical thing that Samsung is bordering on already with its
Smart Stay feature, which uses the front-facing camera to detect if you're
looking at the phone, keeping the screen from timing out. If the Galaxy S IV
toook that to the next level by, say, letting you actually turn on the phone
just by looking at it, or speaking to it, would be a good start to laying claim
to some of that Apple "magic."
2. A Better
Ecosystem
The fact that the iPhone is
tied to iTunes — both the software and the store — has been a key part of its
success. iCloud, along with its seamless backing up of photos and other
content, has taken it a step further.
Samsung's ecosystem is comparatively weak. The company has a jumble of multiple
digital storefronts (called "hubs"), its horribly named
"AllShare" cloud-storage system, plus some partnerships with third
parties including Dropbox and SugarSync. Compared to Apple's single-storefront,
set-up-once system, Samsung's is a mess.
Samsung would do itself a world a good if, with the Galaxy S IV, it would
finally offer a clear ecosystem. It should either cut away the partnerships and
go all-in on its own system, or just use Google's, which isn't perfect either
but at least Google Play is relatively consistent.
3.
Fewer Tricks, More Features
Samsung's approach to the
feature set on its smartphones — particularly the Galaxy S III — has been the
shotgun approach: Blast a bunch of features at consumers with questionable
usefulness, and something will hit. Smart Stay was a good idea; Share Shot
(which lets a group of people share pictures at an event), not so much.
In addition, some of these
functions aren't very well thought out. Having the GSIII's camera automatically
suggest tags based on people's faces is good, but since those tags don't work
with Facebook, it's not as useful as it could be.
While any feature will find its share of fans, giving users a grab bag of
trinkets isn't nearly as good as giving a big gift they didn't even know they
wanted. Apple's done this a few times with the iPhone, introducing major
features features such as the Retina display, FaceTime, iCloud and Siri
Think about the Galaxy S III: What's it's standout feature, other than just
being a Samsung Galaxy? With its successor, Samsung would benefit from focusing
on one or two big features instead of inundating users with stupid gadget
tricks. Quality over quantity.
4.
Improved Durability
One of the sad truths about Samsung's
phones is that they just kind of feel cheap. Recently, Samsung went with plastic
backs for most of its mobile devices to cut down on weight (and probably
production costs), but they've also had the effect of making the device appear
low-end when you put it next to, say, the aluminium-unibody HTC One.
On top of that, the Galaxy S III has failed its share of drop tests that have
left the iPhone 5 still ticking. It's not the world's most durable phone,
partly because a its large (4.8-inch) screen is harder to protect than a
smaller display.
At the same time, competitors such as Sony (whose new devices are waterproof)
have found that durability is a differentiator that consumers care about.
Phones get dropped, phones get dinged and phones get submerged — if it hasn't
happened to you, it has to someone you know. If the Galaxy S IV actually ends
up beating the iPhone 5 in stress tests, that's a headline that will be written
over and over again.
5.
Mobile Payments, for Real
Mobile payments on Samsung
phones are already almost certainly in the works, and it represents a ball that
Samsung has picked up because Apple left it lying on the ground. Mobile
payments in many countries — especially the U.S. — is a big fat boondoggle
because there are so many cooks in the kitchen, from wireless carriers to
hardware manufacturers to merchants to ecosystem managers.
Getting all those stars to align is something only a multibillion-dollar
company with a lot of market and mindshare could actually do. So far Apple has
been reluctant to advance in mobile payments, leaving near-field communication
(NFC) out of the iPhone 5 and instead offering its slow-to-catch-on Passbook
app.
At Mobile World Congress, Samsung announced it was partnering with Visa to
include NFC mobile payments on its phones. Since Visa works closely with
merchants and is a partner in Isis (the carrier-blessed partnership for mobile
payments in the U.S.), Samsung could finally be the company to take NFC
payments mainstream in America.
All IV
Nothing?
About a year ago, Samsung had
just launched a marketing campaign specifically targeting Apple, painting its
adherents as uncool and Samsung products as the "Next Big Thing." But
when its commercial for the Galaxy Note (with a stylus!) debuted during Super
Bowl 2012, many laughed Samsung off as the one that was out of touch.
No one's laughing anymore. Samsung's market share has skyrocketed, it's due to
release it's second major
smartphone since the iPhone 5 debuted, and Google is reportedly worried about
how powerful it's getting. Some major developers are even building versions of
their apps specifically for Samsung's products.
To keep the momentum going, however, Samsung needs to take the most important
play from the Apple playbook: Deliver an outstanding product. With the Galaxy S
IV, Samsung has a chance to steal Apple's mobile crown, but it needs to be a
game-changer. All the marketing in the world can't make the next big thing out
of an insignificant upgrade.
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