Why Samsung?

Fernandez21 · Jan 15, 2013

Something has been kind of bothering for the last few months, and that is Samsung's rise in popularity, I just don't get. Samsung devices are horribly built, very ugly, and have crappy displays. Even touchwiz is probably the worse android skin other than LG's. I get that android is pretty darn good and someone picking an android device over the iPhone is fine, but why Samsung when there are so many competent android manufacturers. HTC makes extraordinary handsets, beautifully crafted with high end specs and great displays (HTC One X, Droid DNA). Motorola has great battery life and its handsets feel really solid (RAZR MAXX HD). Sony again has great style and build quality (Xperia). And even LG, they finally made something good with the Nexus 4. But for some reason everyone gravitates towards the samsungs. What am I missing? Is it just because they advertise themselves as the anti-apple so all the apple haters go for them? The only device I can see going with Samsung is the note 2, and that's only because no other manufacturer is making a phone with a display that large.

BigMcGuire · Jan 15, 2013

Imo, they have some of the better products on the market out there vs the competition (if you can call it that).

I got a Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook last year with Windows 8. Very happy with it. Very happy with the build quality, the metal, the battery life. And I had a Macbook Air 13'. Now I'm having fun in the Chromebook area. Samsung Chromebooks blow away competition in build quality and battery life (Acer, yuck).

I went to Best Buy and tried out all the laptops. Samsung seemed the best quality to me. I think that's why the market is going to them. You don't have massive ugly laptops (Acer) with batteries hanging off them. The Sony laptops were MASSIVE ugly pieces of plastic. Dell laptops are just meh imo. With Samsung you have internal, Apple like batteries that last forever, great design, small form factor, win imo.

corvus32 · Jan 15, 2013

The S3 is about as fast as the 4S and made out of plastic, so yeah I kinda wonder myself.

taedouni · Jan 15, 2013

The Galaxy Note 2 is an amazing phone that has so many features that are just not possible on any other phone. I switched from the iPhone 5 to the Note 2 and I love it. I will admit that the iPhone 5 looks better than the Note 2 but the Note 2 is simply amazing.

jamojamo · Jan 15, 2013

Fernandez21 said:
Something has been kind of bothering for the last few months, and that is Samsung's rise in popularity, I just don't get. Samsung devices are horribly built, very ugly, and have crappy displays. Even touchwiz is probably the worse android skin other than LG's. I get that android is pretty darn good and someone picking an android device over the iPhone is fine, but why Samsung when there are so many competent android manufacturers. HTC makes extraordinary handsets, beautifully crafted with high end specs and great displays (HTC One X, Droid DNA). Motorola has great battery life and its handsets feel really solid (RAZR MAXX HD). Sony again has great style and build quality (Xperia). And even LG, they finally made something good with the Nexus 4. But for some reason everyone gravitates towards the samsungs. What am I missing? Is it just because they advertise themselves as the anti-apple so all the apple haters go for them? The only device I can see going with Samsung is the note 2, and that's only because no other manufacturer is making a phone with a display that large.

The last thing this forum needs is more baiting threads. Why would you be bothered by someone else choosing a Samsung or ANY other brand phone?

Fernandez21 · Jan 15, 2013

jamojamo said:
The last thing this forum needs is more baiting threads. Why would you be bothered by someone else choosing a Samsung or ANY other brand phone?

I said it kinda bothers me, it's not like I wake up in the morning cursing Samsung, but it does bother me in the sense that I don't want other manufacturers to start imitating Samsung, we have LG for that. When HP was the most popular pc maker, suddenly all other pc makers started copying them and that really hurt the pc market. Now pc makers are having a tough time bringing quality back to the pc and have a bad reputation because of the race to the bottom started by HP. I think companies making quality products should be the ones rewarded. You think Sony, HTC, and Motorola will continue spending a lot on r&d and quality manufacturing when Samsung is eating their lunch making these types of devices? That's why it sort of bothers me.

SomeDudeAsking · Jan 15, 2013

Apple has A LOT of self made enemies.

dmelgar · Jan 15, 2013

I've wondered this as well.

HTC had a dramatic fall at the same time Samsung has had a dramatic rise.

I think it coincided with the Google Nexus-S. They became the official Google phone. That seemed to change lots of perception about Samsung. I don't understand why people suddenly think TouchWiz is ok. The Google Galaxy Nexus helped even more.

My perception is that the Galaxy S1 (Vibrant, Captivate, Fascinate) was an awful blatant copy of the iPhone that didn't do that well in the market. It wasn't well reviewed.

The Nexus-S was much more positively reviewed with less negative coverage. Already less coverage of cheap plastic.

By the time the Galaxy S2 came out, coverage was not at all negative. Very few complaints about the UI.

The Galaxy Nexus did even better and publicized the "Galaxy" branch.

Then the Galaxy S3 has been treated as the Jesus phone. The second coming. Finally something to beat the iPhone. Having the same name for the phone worldwide and carrier-wide has helped their marketing greatly.

To its credit, I think Samsung has always made very good displays. The cheap plastic on the S3 wraps a sturdy frame so it doesn't feel as cheap unless you take the battery cover off.

But I really do think their guerrilla marketing has been the linchpin. They have done an excellent job of targeting fad oriented young people by making fun of standing in line for Apple products and saying its your parent's phone.
They've also done an excellent job of targeting the Android community, painting themselves as the defenseless little company battling the evil Apple empire while only trying to altruistically provide great leaps of innovation.

----------

SomeDudeAsking said:
Apple has A LOT of self made enemies.

That does nothing to explain why Samsung has done so well at the expense of all other Android manufacturers.

Samsung has the overwhelming majority of Android profits. Google doesn't make much, they give Android away for free. LG, HTC, Motorola can barely make any profit at all. Its been all Samsung all of a sudden.

The question is why Samsung.

onthecouchagain · Jan 15, 2013

They took a page out of Apple. The only difference is they then took it further and offered people what Apple wouldn't.

Also, major marketing.

Samsung deserves to be where they are.

Don't know why people hold HTC to such high praise. Their battery life is notoriously bad (and small), and their wake/sleep button manages to be harder to reach and press with each progressive device released. Sense also adds virtually nothing to Android. Not sure why people are surprised by their downfall.

I predict Sony is going to make a come back. Xperia Z and ZL look great and could contend for second place.

1) Samsung
2) Sony
3) Toss up between LG or Googorola (depending on what they do)
4) HTC

thehustleman · Jan 15, 2013

Fernandez21 said:
Something has been kind of bothering for the last few months, and that is Samsung's rise in popularity, I just don't get. Samsung devices are horribly built, very ugly, and have crappy displays. Even touchwiz is probably the worse android skin other than LG's. I get that android is pretty darn good and someone picking an android device over the iPhone is fine, but why Samsung when there are so many competent android manufacturers. HTC makes extraordinary handsets, beautifully crafted with high end specs and great displays (HTC One X, Droid DNA). Motorola has great battery life and its handsets feel really solid (RAZR MAXX HD). Sony again has great style and build quality (Xperia). And even LG, they finally made something good with the Nexus 4. But for some reason everyone gravitates towards the samsungs. What am I missing? Is it just because they advertise themselves as the anti-apple so all the apple haters go for them? The only device I can see going with Samsung is the note 2, and that's only because no other manufacturer is making a phone with a display that large.

Because

1. They are actually well-built devices. Unlike HTC who seem to have a huge problem with charging ports dying off and couple that with a battery the user can't replace (terrible direction they are going with the non replaceable batteries). Or Motorola who doesn't support and update their devices and isn't pushing android to be more and better.

2. Because the market wants lightweight samsung delivered.

3. Because they are simply offering the best phones on the planet (GS3 and note II)

4. What's a new feature the other Android makers have brought to the table? Samsung is bringing great new FUNCTIONAL features no one else is.

5. Advertising and marketing. I mean seriously apple creates a phone that doesn't do as much as other phones but markets them so well people think they actually are the best, some even think the iphone can do things no other phone can. When you prove to them it can't, they reply "yeah but this is an iphone" samsung simply made a better phone and made sure people knew it.

6. Touchwiz is nothing to be proud of, but only takes a quick download to remove so it's a non issue.

Fernandez21 · Jan 15, 2013

onthecouchagain said:
They took a page out of Apple. The only difference is they then took it further and offered people what Apple wouldn't.

Also, major marketing.

Samsung deserves to be where they are.

Don't know why people hold HTC to such high praise. Their battery life is notoriously bad (and small), and their wake/sleep button manages to be harder to reach and press with each progressive device released. Sense also adds virtually nothing to Android. Not sure why people are surprised by their downfall.

I predict Sony is going to make a come back. Xperia Z and ZL look great and could contend for second place.

1) Samsung
2) Sony
3) Toss up between LG or Googorola (depending on what they do)
4) HTC

What page? The only real time they copied apple was with the first Galaxy phone, and that had horrible reviews. They did offer what apple didn't, but so did all other phone manufacturers. I agree with their marketing push, its the only thing I can of where they completely beat out other android manufacturers in.

As for HTC, their design and built quality are one of the best, the unibody design and HD display on the one x are the best in the business right now. I agree with their power button being hard to press. But battery life on the HTC One X was lauded as one of its greatest features and at the time was the longest lasting android handset not made by motorola. While sense is a step down from stock android, so is touchwiz, and sense isnt as an aggressive skin as it. I would much rather have sense than touchwiz. Is a crappy power button and poor marketing really the reason HTC has fallen on bad times?

I too think Sony is gearing for a comeback this year, though I rank my android quite differently than you:

1. HTC
2. Motorola
3. Sony
4. Samsung
5. LG

thehustleman said:
Because

1. They are actually well-built devices. Unlike HTC who seem to have a huge problem with charging ports dying off and couple that with a battery the user can't replace (terrible direction they are going with the non replaceable batteries). Or Motorola who doesn't support and update their devices and isn't pushing android to be more and better.

HTC, Motorola, and Sony also offer well built devices and they don't feel like crap. Is a user replaceable battery really that important? Sony also offers replaceable batteries, but they haven't had much success. And what support does samsung offer that Motorola, HTC or Sony don't? They're all slow at updating their software, how much longer until the S2 gets jelly bean?

2. Because the market wants lightweight samsung delivered.

Ok, I kind of see that.

3. Because they are simply offering the best phones on the planet (GS3 and note II)

Again, how is the GS3 better than the One X, Nexus 4, Xperia, and Moto RAZR? The Note 2, there really isnt another large screen device like it, so for now it stands alone in that category.

4. What's a new feature the other Android makers have brought to the table? Samsung is bringing great new FUNCTIONAL features no one else is.

What new functional features has samsung brought to the table? The Nexus is bringing wireless charging, Moto has ridiculous battery life, Sony brought Playstation, and HTC was the first to bring out LTE.

5. Advertising and marketing. I mean seriously apple creates a phone that doesn't do as much as other phones but markets them so well people think they actually are the best, some even think the iphone can do things no other phone can. When you prove to them it can't, they reply "yeah but this is an iphone" samsung simply made a better phone and made sure people knew it.

I totally agree with this point.

6. Touchwiz is nothing to be proud of, but only takes a quick download to remove so it's a non issue.

You can say the same with the other manufacturers, and most people don't load a custom rom anyway, so not sure how this could be a reason.

Responses in bold

dmelgar said:
I've wondered this as well.

HTC had a dramatic fall at the same time Samsung has had a dramatic rise.

I think it coincided with the Google Nexus-S. They became the official Google phone. That seemed to change lots of perception about Samsung. I don't understand why people suddenly think TouchWiz is ok. The Google Galaxy Nexus helped even more.

My perception is that the Galaxy S1 (Vibrant, Captivate, Fascinate) was an awful blatant copy of the iPhone that didn't do that well in the market. It wasn't well reviewed.

The Nexus-S was much more positively reviewed with less negative coverage. Already less coverage of cheap plastic.

By the time the Galaxy S2 came out, coverage was not at all negative. Very few complaints about the UI.

The Galaxy Nexus did even better and publicized the "Galaxy" branch.

Then the Galaxy S3 has been treated as the Jesus phone. The second coming. Finally something to beat the iPhone. Having the same name for the phone worldwide and carrier-wide has helped their marketing greatly.

To its credit, I think Samsung has always made very good displays. The cheap plastic on the S3 wraps a sturdy frame so it doesn't feel as cheap unless you take the battery cover off.

But I really do think their guerrilla marketing has been the linchpin. They have done an excellent job of targeting fad oriented young people by making fun of standing in line for Apple products and saying its your parent's phone.
They've also done an excellent job of targeting the Android community, painting themselves as the defenseless little company battling the evil Apple empire while only trying to altruistically provide great leaps of innovation.

----------

That does nothing to explain why Samsung has done so well at the expense of all other Android manufacturers.

Samsung has the overwhelming majority of Android profits. Google doesn't make much, they give Android away for free. LG, HTC, Motorola can barely make any profit at all. Its been all Samsung all of a sudden.

The question is why Samsung.

I can see your point, having the Nexus device two years in a row seemed to help their image, I guess this and their marketing could be what propelled them to the top.

l0gikb0mb · Jan 15, 2013

I liked the Note 2. The design was nice too. The plastic undoubtedly creaked after a week and felt cheap. Was solved by putting a business card on the back flap, and applying a very small amount of WD40 on the lock button stopped the nasty squeaks. Shouldn't have had to do that though.

Samsung's TouchWiz is all about copying iOS. I can't believe people still doubt that to this day. When I switched it was laughable how much they are trying to imitate iOS. All in all though, it's a solid phone but I'd definitely move to Nexus line if I went back.

onthecouchagain · Jan 15, 2013

Fernandez21 said:
I too think Sony is gearing for a comeback this year, though I rank my android quite differently than you:

1. HTC
2. Motorola
3. Sony
4. Samsung
5. LG

You think HTC, Motorola, and Sony will beat Samsung this year?

Timzer · Jan 15, 2013

onthecouchagain said:
1) Samsung
2) Sony
3) Toss up between LG or Googorola (depending on what they do)
4) HTC

Exactly what I think will happen in 2013.

flameproof · Jan 15, 2013

Apple is behind time with its products. Once it was leading, but now it's trailing.

NFC is a good example, a technology that's out there for a while. But Apple thinks users don't need it. That's were they err. They should supply it and let the user decide what they need and not need.

Apple said - our screen size is the best after long research and you don't need any other screen size. Again, the market has another opinion.

Simple fact is now, many people stop buying simply because the brand is Apple and start to compare. And once they compare Apple will lose.

Timzer · Jan 15, 2013

Fernandez21 said:
1. HTC
2. Motorola
3. Sony
4. Samsung
5. LG

Seriously? Samsung is the number 1 Android maker by a VERY LARGE margin, and you believe they will drop down to number 4 just like that. Hilarious.
So let me ask you, do you think Apple will drop down 3 spots just like that this year? Stop letting your hate for Samsung get in the way of logic.

Fernandez21 · Jan 15, 2013

onthecouchagain said:
You think HTC, Motorola, and Sony will beat Samsung this year?

Timzer said:
Seriously? Samsung is the number 1 Android maker by a VERY LARGE margin, and you believe they will drop down to number 4 just like that. Hilarious.
So let me ask you, do you think Apple will drop down 3 spots just like that this year? Stop letting your hate for Samsung get in the way of logic.

Huh? No, I dont think Samsung will drop like that, that is my personal rankings of those companies, not what I think they will do in the market. If you want those rankings it'll probably be:

1. Samsung
2. Sony
3. HTC
4. Motorola
5. LG

----------

flameproof said:
Apple is behind time with its products. Once it was leading, but now it's trailing.

NFC is a good example, a technology that's out there for a while. But Apple thinks users don't need it. That's were they err. They should supply it and let the user decide what they need and not need.

Apple said - our screen size is the best after long research and you don't need any other screen size. Again, the market has another opinion.

Simple fact is now, many people stop buying simply because the brand is Apple and start to compare. And once they compare Apple will lose.

But this isn't an Apple vs. Samsung debate, its a Samsung vs. HTC vs Sony vs Motorola vs LG debate, and why Samsung has come out on top. NFC is also offered by those companies too.

F123D · Jan 15, 2013

Samsung has been successful because they released the Galaxy S3 and Note II on all carriers.

One X is AT&T only.

Droid DNA is Verizon only.

Razr Maxx HD is Verizon only.

Nexus 4 is AT&T and T-Mobile only.

Not sure about the Xperia Z..

Can't be successful if all your phones are carrier exclusives.

KentuckyHouse · Jan 15, 2013

Fernandez21 said:
Something has been kind of bothering for the last few months, and that is Samsung's rise in popularity, I just don't get. Samsung devices are horribly built, very ugly, and have crappy displays. Even touchwiz is probably the worse android skin other than LG's. I get that android is pretty darn good and someone picking an android device over the iPhone is fine, but why Samsung when there are so many competent android manufacturers. HTC makes extraordinary handsets, beautifully crafted with high end specs and great displays (HTC One X, Droid DNA). Motorola has great battery life and its handsets feel really solid (RAZR MAXX HD). Sony again has great style and build quality (Xperia). And even LG, they finally made something good with the Nexus 4. But for some reason everyone gravitates towards the samsungs. What am I missing? Is it just because they advertise themselves as the anti-apple so all the apple haters go for them? The only device I can see going with Samsung is the note 2, and that's only because no other manufacturer is making a phone with a display that large.

I'll bite.

As I own both the iPhone and Galaxy series (formerly 3GS, 4S, and now 5 and formerly the S2 and currently S3) I feel qualified to give my take on this ridiculous post.

First, your contentions about build quality and screen are just stupid. Is the S3 as "sturdy" as the 4S? I would say no. But that doesn't make it a bad phone. You fail to mention the problems the 5 is having...the fact that Apple used substandard aluminum that bends easily (and then made the phone only longer so as to make it MORE easily bent).

You say Samsung phones are "ugly". That's a matter of opinion and I don't agree. We'll leave it at that.

Crappy displays? You've obviously never seen the screen on the S3. Is it as great outside as an IPS display? No. But its clear, bright, and easy to read. And you probably hate the over saturated colors, right? Oh, but you don't mind that Apple over saturated the 5's screen? Hypocrite.

UI is all a matter of choice. You know, that word that Apple hates? Don't like Touchwiz? Then install a custom launcher. Done.

Having also owned 2 One X's, a One X+, and a Motorola Atrix HD, I will agree that the build quality of all of those is better than any Samsung phone. As are the displays. But they have their own faults. The One series phones as well as the Atrix HD are locked down tight. Yes, you can unlock the boot loader on the One series phones, but the flashing experience and developer support pales in comparison to the Samsung phones or Nexus phones. And don't get me started on battery life. Motorola has great batteries? Are you joking? The Atrix HD was AWFUL. I did the RAZR Maxx battery mod and it still sucked. I easily get 5 hours screen on time on my S3 and it's only running stock rooted (with no battery saving enabled).

Just stop trolling this section and making yourself look silly. It's obvious you have no clue what you're talking about.

ReanimationN · Jan 15, 2013

F123D said:
Samsung has been successful because they released the Galaxy S3 and Note II on all carriers.

And they've kept the naming and appearance consistent worldwide, making it easier to market the phone behind a unified brand.

Fernandez21 · Jan 15, 2013

KentuckyHouse said:
I'll bite.

As I own both the iPhone and Galaxy series (formerly 3GS, 4S, and now 5 and formerly the S2 and currently S3) I feel qualified to give my take on this ridiculous post.

First, your contentions about build quality and screen are just stupid. Is the S3 as "sturdy" as the 4S? I would say no. But that doesn't make it a bad phone. You fail to mention the problems the 5 is having...the fact that Apple used substandard aluminum that bends easily (and then made the phone only longer so as to make it MORE easily bent).

You say Samsung phones are "ugly". That's a matter of opinion and I don't agree. We'll leave it at that.

Crappy displays? You've obviously never seen the screen on the S3. Is it as great outside as an IPS display? No. But its clear, bright, and easy to read. And you probably hate the over saturated colors, right? Oh, but you don't mind that Apple over saturated the 5's screen? Hypocrite.

UI is all a matter of choice. You know, that word that Apple hates? Don't like Touchwiz? Then install a custom launcher. Done.

Having also owned 2 One X's, a One X+, and a Motorola Atrix HD, I will agree that the build quality of all of those is better than any Samsung phone. As are the displays. But they have their own faults. The One series phones as well as the Atrix HD are locked down tight. Yes, you can unlock the boot loader on the One series phones, but the flashing experience and developer support pales in comparison to the Samsung phones or Nexus phones. And don't get me started on battery life. Motorola has great batteries? Are you joking? The Atrix HD was AWFUL. I did the RAZR Maxx battery mod and it still sucked. I easily get 5 hours screen on time on my S3 and it's only running stock rooted (with no battery saving enabled).

Just stop trolling this section and making yourself look silly. It's obvious you have no clue what you're talking about.

Why is this a Samsung vs Apple? I never mentioned apple. You just said so your self that the HTC and Motorola handsets you tried had better build quality and better screens, and yet still chose the SG3, why? The One X I had, had pretty good battery life and all the battery test done at anandtech.com show the One X and RAZR all having better battery life than the SG3.

beavo451 · Jan 15, 2013

Obviously the market disagrees with your opinion about Samsung products.

I had a One X and now a S3. Yes, I like the S3 screen. Yes, I liked the screen of the One X better. I like everything else about the S3 better. Sense on the HTC constantly had to reload itself so I was always waiting on it whenever I hit the home button.

F123D · Jan 15, 2013

Fernandez21 said:
The One X I had, had pretty good battery life and all the battery test done at anandtech.com show the One X and RAZR all having better battery life than the SG3.

S3 battery dies, swap it out for a fully charged battery and you're ready to go. What happens when you're out and your One X runs out of battery?

thekev · Jan 15, 2013

corvus32 said:
The S3 is about as fast as the 4S and made out of plastic, so yeah I kinda wonder myself.

I'm truly puzzled by the obsession with aluminum over plastic. Both are fairly cost effective materials. Both are used at extreme ranges of the cost spectrum, and in both cases the price of the raw materials isn't much. Your phone uses at most a few dollars worth of aluminum when you include the scraps from cutting it down. Even though that adds up over the number of devices Apple ships, it is only an issue if the device margins are low or the company has trouble overcoming development costs. I don't think that is the case for Apple or Samsung. The idea that build quality has anything to do with metal or plastic is just nonsense to me.

onthecouchagain · Jan 15, 2013

thekev said:
I'm truly puzzled by the obsession with aluminum over plastic. Both are fairly cost effective materials. Both are used at extreme ranges of the cost spectrum, and in both cases the price of the raw materials isn't much. Your phone uses at most a few dollars worth of aluminum when you include the scraps from cutting it down. Even though that adds up over the number of devices Apple ships, it is only an issue if the device margins are low or the company has trouble overcoming development costs. I don't think that is the case for Apple or Samsung. The idea that build quality has anything to do with metal or plastic is just nonsense to me.

There's no puzzle here.

Apple uses aluminum, therefore aluminum reigns supreme. Why? Because

Why Samsung?

macrumors 601

Cancelled

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 65816

macrumors 6502

macrumors 601

macrumors 65816

macrumors 68000

macrumors 604

macrumors 65816

macrumors 601

macrumors regular

macrumors 604

macrumors 6502

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 6502

macrumors 601

macrumors 68040

macrumors 68030

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 601

macrumors 6502

macrumors 68040

macrumors 604

macrumors 604

Our Staff