Samsung Debuts New Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Watch, Wireless Charger Duo, and Galaxy Home Smart Speaker

[LIVEFRMNYC]

It is hard to keep track of comments on this message board. If you look at my original post that you then replied to, I was replying to somebody asking if iPhone could run MacOS on an attached monitor or TV (macduke, post #206). I then asked what OS the Samsung phone was pushing to the screen, to determine if it was a fair comparison to MacOS. DeX is clearly not in the same league as Windows or MacOS as the poster implied.

Dex is basically a portable desktop experience. Not meant to be an actual desktop OS. A user doesn't have to use it, it doesn't get in the way of anything. But for those that want to use it, it's there. And it works pretty damn good, for when you want a desktop experience in browsing, windowed multitasking, using office docs, and etc. So much better than just mirroring the mobile UI.

Would be nice if iPhone had something similar.

 

[Abazigal]

Apple is competition for Samsung, but they have the luxury having their own ecosystem and OS which makes it harder for their consumers to the switch.

Samsung on the other hand doesn't have that luxury. Even the most uninformed consumer switches to differ brand Android phones if they see a design, price, or feature they like. It doesn't take much to sway the mainstream in the Android world.

Samsung does have the luxury of brand recognition and well designed phones, which is why they are leading the Android pack. But it's not Apple that puts any specific Samsung model below iPhone in sales, it's the tons of other Android phones.

If Android phone were Samsung only, then it would crush iPhone sales.

And BTW ... The iPhone X did sell below expectation.

Which just goes to show - you reap what you sow.

Apple took the risk and put in the hard work of developing their own ecosystem, and it has paid off in the form of record profits stemming from a superior user experience.

Samsung, like the numerous other Android OEMs out there, simply slapped their own custom skin on top of existing software that has already been coded for them, and call it a day, and you wonder why they are not enjoying the same successes as Apple?

And to add insult to injury, Samsung’s latest tactic is to give their devices away - two of them if that's what it takes!

Samsung has already diluted their brand by getting hooked on the android narcotic (pushing someone else's product), and then hooked believing that they can actually win at the casino game they're playing. To have a chance at getting some of the $$$ that remain. Like cannibalistic piranhas decimating each other.

What does Samsung expect when neither the ideas nor the product is *theirs* and they're pushing the same filling as pretty much every other Android OEM out there? The only thing that belongs to them is the name-plate, and they're even making a laughing stock out of *that* with all the cringey ads they are releasing of late.

Samsung should fail.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Which just goes to show - you reap what you sow.

Apple took the risk and put in the hard work of developing their own ecosystem, and it has paid off in the form of record profits stemming from a superior user experience.

Samsung, like the numerous other Android OEMs out there, simply slapped their own custom skin on top of existing software that has already been coded for them, and call it a day, and you wonder why they are not enjoying the same successes as Apple?

And to add insult to injury, Samsung’s latest tactic is to give their devices away - two of them if that's what it takes!

Samsung has already diluted their brand by getting hooked on the android narcotic (pushing someone else's product), and then hooked believing that they can actually win at the casino game they're playing. To have a chance at getting some of the $$$ that remain. Like cannibalistic piranhas decimating each other.

What does Samsung expect when neither the ideas nor the product is *theirs* and they're pushing the same filling as pretty much every other Android OEM out there? The only thing that belongs to them is the name-plate, and they're even making a laughing stock out of *that* with all the cringey ads they are releasing of late.

Samsung should fail.

You couldn't be any more wrong. Samsung phones are not going anywhere. Apple has a serious problem, they are not a company that prospers in the portable market unless they have a highest seller product. It's either top or bottom for Apple. The iPhone will eventually become a thing of the past just like every other one of Apple's portable products. History will repeat itself, but Steve Jobs is no longer here to save Apple.

Apple's strategy is ... keep a firm grip on it's ecosystem, and keep the hardware updated just minimal enough to sway consumers not to switch to Android. The problem is, the Android world is moving much faster than Apple would like. Eventually something is going to come along that Apple just can't follow soon enough, and that's when the potential for a sales crash will happen.

Globally, the iPhone as a name still holds weight as the top tier phone to get. Mainstream consumers couldn't tell you why it's the phone to get.

I bought my mother, cousin, and sister an iPhone 8+ last year. And my niece an iPhone X. They all came from Android phones and are not tech savvy. Months later I asked them what do they like better, and they all had an indifference of comparison. The only thing my mother liked better about her previous Note 4 was the S-pen, everything else was in the realm of "they both work fine for me" type of answers. This is the common ground between most mainstream consumers. It's brand symbolism that makes the mainstream feel that the iPhone is automatically the top choice of phone. When that brand symbolism deteriorates (which it's slowly already starting to), then iPhone sales will plummet. History proves companies that put their own vision above the consumers, always fall from the top hard and fast.

What I mentioned above is inevitable, unless Apple reinvents the iPhone from scratch, and opens up iOS. Which I hope they do. Cause the last thing I want is for Samsung is to feel like they don't have to be competitive.

 

[Abazigal]

You couldn't be any more wrong. Samsung phones are not going anywhere. Apple has a serious problem, they are not a company that prospers in the portable market unless they have a highest seller product. It's either top or bottom for Apple. The iPhone will eventually become a thing of the past just like every other one of Apple's portable products. History will repeat itself, but Steve Jobs is no longer here to save Apple.

And by that time, Apple will long have moved on to the next big thing.

Apple's strategy is ... keep a firm grip on it's ecosystem, and keep the hardware updated just minimal enough to sway consumers not to switch to Android. The problem is, the Android world is moving much faster than Apple would like. Eventually something is going to come along that Apple just can't follow soon enough, and that's when the potential for a sales crash will happen.

Apple’s strategy is to use their control over hardware and software to provide a superior user experience which their customers are willing to pay a premium for.

There’s a reason why Apple has all the profits.

Globally, the iPhone as a name still holds weight as the top tier phone to get. Mainstream consumers couldn't tell you why it's the phone to get.

And yet they continue to stick with them. Being unable to verbalise or quantity a benefit doesn’t mean there aren’t any.

I bought my mother, cousin, and sister an iPhone 8+ last year. And my niece an iPhone X. They all came from Android phones and are not tech savvy. Months later I asked them what do they like better, and they all had an indifference of comparison. The only thing my mother liked better about her previous Note 4 was the S-pen, everything else was in the realm of "they both work fine for me" type of answers. This is the common ground between most mainstream consumers. It's brand symbolism that makes the mainstream feel that the iPhone is automatically the top choice of phone. When that brand symbolism deteriorates (which it's slowly already starting to), then iPhone sales will plummet. History proves companies that put their own vision above the consumers, always fall from the top hard and fast.

What I mentioned above is inevitable, unless Apple reinvents the iPhone from scratch, and opens up iOS. Which I hope they do. Cause the last thing I want is for Samsung is to feel like they don't have to be competitive.

Apple will do just fine, and continue to prosper in spite of everything you have just said. In the very least, Apple will not fail for the reasons you just outlined above.

The criticisms you have are nothing new. I have heard them to death since 2013, and nothing has changed since then. Well, except maybe that they seem to be applying more to Samsung than to Apple, who has seem largely immune to the conventional theories of disruption.

There’s a broader reason why Samsung is starting to feel the heat. After all these years, they still don’t know what it is their products stand for.

Apple’s vision is clear and simple - to make the best products possible (according to their own definition of whatever that means). It’s not perfect and often polarises its user base as much as it excites them, but there’s a purity in this mindset that’s admirable.

What’s Samsung’s goal? Beat Apple? With Samsung so focused (or obsessed) with trying to topple Apple, Samsung can’t be true to themselves and make the products they want to make.

And that is why Apple will succeed and why Samsung’s mobile wing will fall. Because till this day, Samsung still has no idea what it is they are fighting for.

You are more than welcome to bet against Apple, as countless others have. It’s a fool’s errand, as history has shown, but don’t let that dissuade you by any means.

One bets against Apple to their own detriment.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

And by that time, Apple will long have moved on to the next big thing.

You might be right. Just know that the next big thing can't be the same thing.

Apple’s strategy is to use their control over hardware and software to provide a superior user experience which their customers are willing to pay a premium for.

There’s a reason why Apple has all the profits.

People pay a premium (including myself) for Apple products because you can't use iOS or MacOS on any other products. That's the MAIN reason.

It's the same reason used Nintendo games holds it value so well. And there is barely any bargins on new downloads/or physical games. Cause you can't play many Nintendo games on any other platform. Compare that to the drastic bargains on PC games and frequent bargains on Xbox and PS.

And yet they continue to stick with them. Being unable to verbalise or quantity a benefit doesn’t mean there aren’t any.

It proves that the brand is doing more of the selling, versus any benefit.

Apple will do just fine, and continue to prosper in spite of everything you have just said. In the very least, Apple will not fail for the reasons you just outlined above.

The criticisms you have are nothing new. I have heard them to death since 2013, and nothing has changed since then. Well, except maybe that they seem to be applying more to Samsung than to Apple, who has seem largely immune to the conventional theories of disruption.

Other companies in the past have also heard the same criticisms for many years, until one day ..."POOF!!"

There’s a broader reason why Samsung is starting to feel the heat. After all these years, they still don’t know what it is their products stand for.

Feel the heat? Samsung is not feeling the heat. They are doing extremely well. Having a specific mobile device not being the #1 seller is far from feeling the heat. If Samsung is "feeling the heat", then by your logic, other Android manufactures should just close shop.

Apple’s vision is clear and simple - to make the best products possible (according to their own definition of whatever that means). It’s not perfect and often polarises its user base as much as it excites them, but there’s a purity in this mindset that’s admirable.

No, their vision is to make the most profit possible. Not holding that as a negative from a business perceptive. But when you sacrifice the consumer's vision in favor of just profit, it's never a lasting affair.

What’s Samsung’s goal? Beat Apple? With Samsung so focused (or obsessed) with trying to topple Apple, Samsung can’t be true to themselves and make the products they want to make.

And that is why Apple will succeed and why Samsung’s mobile wing will fall. Because till this day, Samsung still has no idea what it is they are fighting for.

True to themselves? Samsung is a freaking tech company, not some inspiring movement. The same with Apple, but Apple has done a great job at brainwashing the masses that they are more then just a for profit tech manufacturer.

You are more than welcome to bet against Apple, as countless others have. It’s a fool’s errand, as history has shown, but don’t let that dissuade you by any means.

One bets against Apple to their own detriment.

OMG!!! ..... Apple has you in around their finger. You can't even fathom the possibility of anything other than Apple sitting on a throne.

 

[MDF314159265]

Their marketing is on it! That video is simple and to the point. And beautiful!

 

[Abazigal]

You might be right. Just know that the next big thing can't be the same thing.

But of course.

I am personally betting on wearables being the next big thing at Apple. Right now, Apple is content to keep milking the iPhone for all it’s worth, but this should not be confused for Apple being overly reliant on the iPhone without any backup plan in place.

When it is time for wearables to take over, Apple will do what is necessary to cannibalise itself.

I wouldn’t lose any sleep over this.

People pay a premium (including myself) for Apple products because you can't use iOS or MacOS on any other products. That's the MAIN reason.

And the reason for this is because iOS / macos and the Apple ecosystem offers benefits over and beyond what the competition can offer.

We don’t stick with iOS for the sake of iOS.

It's the same reason used Nintendo games holds it value so well. And there is barely any bargins on new downloads/or physical games. Cause you can't play many Nintendo games on any other platform. Compare that to the drastic bargains on PC games and frequent bargains on Xbox and PS.

But that has also got to be because for these people, Nintendo games have aged well and they still prefer them over the newer games on the market.

If those games sucked, nobody would bother with them, even if they were freely available.

It proves that the brand is doing more of the selling, versus any benefit.

That may have been the case for the initial sale, but to stay an Apple user year after year after year, there has to be some genuine benefit beyond brand power Apple.

Other companies in the past have also heard the same criticisms for many years, until one day ..."POOF!!"

Then I pose you the same question I posed every other detractor here.

If you want me to believe that you understand why Apple will fail, then first demonstrate to me that you understand the reasons why Apple grew, and how it grew to be as successful as it did.

So far, I have seen no such understanding from yourself. And if you comprehend what it is which makes Apple tick, then you will see why (I believe) Apple is a lot more resilient to being disrupted than many a critic gives them credit for.

Feel the heat? Samsung is not feeling the heat. They are doing extremely well. Having a specific mobile device not being the #1 seller is far from feeling the heat. If Samsung is "feeling the heat", then by your logic, other Android manufactures should just close shop.

Samsung and Apple together account for pretty much all the profits in the industry. For many other OEMs, given the razor-thin margins they are likely making, they might as well just close shop, park their money in the bank and collect the interest.

But hey, it’s not my money they are burning.

No, their vision is to make the most profit possible. Not holding that as a negative from a business perceptive. But when you sacrifice the consumer's vision in favor of just profit, it's never a lasting affair.

And how does Apple make a profit, if not by making great projects which people are willing to pay a premium for?

True to themselves? Samsung is a freaking tech company, not some inspiring movement. The same with Apple, but Apple has done a great job at brainwashing the masses that they are more then just a for profit tech manufacturer.

Their design philosophies are what drives each company to create and release the products that they do.

And that is why I am an Apple product user and not a Samsung one (and no, having Samsung parts in my iPhone doesn’t make it a Samsung product).

OMG!!! ..... Apple has you in around their finger. You can't even fathom the possibility of anything other than Apple sitting on a throne.

Watch and learn. Apple just crossed one trillion in market value and what we are observing is merely the start of Apple ascent.

All the way to the top.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Watch and learn. Apple just crossed one trillion in market value and what we are observing is merely the start of Apple ascent.

All the way to the top.

They can cross the quadrillion market value, doesn't mean the iPhone is going to remain relevant. For all we know, it'll be an unknown manufacturer that will completely dominate the mobile game in the near future. Market value has almost next to no relevance in sustaining a consumer's choice of product.

 

[Abazigal]

They can cross the quadrillion market value, doesn't mean the iPhone is going to remain relevant. For all we know, it'll be an unknown manufacturer that will completely dominate the mobile game in the near future. Market value has almost next to no relevance in sustaining a consumer's choice of product.

Sure, anything could happen. A meteor could hit Apple’s headquarters today and wipe out their entire workforce for all we know, if we want to go into hypotheticals.

But you do raise a rather contradictory point. For a hardware company like Apple, how exact do you expect them to continue increasing in value if their products no longer become relevant (which implies that people are still buying their stuff, and why would anyone do that if they were no longer relevant?)

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Sure, anything could happen. A meteor could hit Apple’s headquarters today and wipe out their entire workforce for all we know, if we want to go into hypotheticals.

But you do raise a rather contradictory point. For a hardware company like Apple, how exact do you expect them to continue increasing in value if their products no longer become relevant (which implies that people are still buying their stuff, and why would anyone do that if they were no longer relevant?)

Do you not understand the word sustaining? I did not imply that their value would continue increasing if their sales drop.

 

[macduke]

I must admit that it would be really freaking useful to be able to connect an iPhone to any display and use it as a Mac. I wouldn't use it very often but I REALLY want it. Would be amazing when traveling. I maintain dozens and dozens of websites as part of my job but I never feel like I can go on vacation without lugging around my MacBook Pro in case something goes wrong.

I've been doing this for a couple of years, but you have to get a lightning to HDMI adapter.
Very handy.

Your iPhone is running macOS? That is quite impressive.

Is the Samsung Note 9 going to run MacOS when you plug it into a monitor? Or MS Windows? What OS will it run?

Matt, do you understand now why it is important to not butt into another persons conversation? Super.

 

[Cankoda]

Smartwatch
Big Phones
S-Pen
Wireless Headphones
Wireless Charging
Heart Rate sensor
Samsung Health App
These are some.

-Samsung did not remotely invent the smart watch or popularize it
-A pen is still a Samsung only feature (because it’s stupid in my opinion)
-wireless headphones and charging...really?
-health tracking and heart rate sensors were not a Samsung idea, nor do Samsung phones have a heart rate sensor any more

The only one I’ll give you is popularizing the big phones, other than that most things were created and popularized by other companies, and most things Samsung make stay with them

 

[Shanghaichica]

-Samsung did not remotely invent the smart watch or popularize it
-A pen is still a Samsung only feature (because it’s stupid in my opinion)
-wireless headphones and charging...really?
-health tracking and heart rate sensors were not a Samsung idea, nor do Samsung phones have a heart rate sensor any more

The only one I’ll give you is popularizing the big phones, other than that most things were created and popularized by other companies, and most things Samsung make stay with them

My S9 Plus had a heart rate sensor.

Oled displays

Samsung were the first android OEM to have a smart watch. Well ahead of the game on that one.

 

[Abazigal]

My S9 Plus had a heart rate sensor.

A very inaccurate one too, if I remember the reviews correctly. Not to mention useless because it has to be manually activated.

 

[Shanghaichica]

A very inaccurate one too, if I remember the reviews correctly. Not to mention useless because it has to be manually activated.

I don’t think it’s very useful because it has to be manually activated. The one on my Apple Watch does it passively.

However it’s still there if people want it.

I think they (Samsung) deserve some credit for their features even if I wouldn’t personally use them.

I don’t think I’d ever use FaceTime with 34 people but it’s still pretty cool.

I’ll probably never use walkie talkie on my Apple Watch but it’s still a cool feature.

 

[Abazigal]

I don’t think it’s very useful because it has to be manually activated. The one on my Apple Watch does it passively.

However it’s still there if people want it.

Therein lies the issue - including a feature of dubious value for the sake of an extra bullet point.

The advantage of a heart rate sensor on my watch is that it is constantly tracking my heart rate throughout the day, without me even having to think about this, so I am able to view my heart rate throughout the day and spot any anomalies.

Putting one on a phone? That’s the definition of a gimmick right there.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Therein lies the issue - including a feature of dubious value for the sake of an extra bullet point.

The advantage of a heart rate sensor on my watch is that it is constantly tracking my heart rate throughout the day, without me even having to think about this, so I am able to view my heart rate throughout the day and spot any anomalies.

Putting one on a phone? That’s the definition of a gimmick right there.

I think when Samsung first put it on the phone they didn’t have a smart watch that could do it. So then it was a novel feature. Apple Watch wasn’t even out back then. I think it’s just stuck around and they didn’t take it off once is became surpassed by better ways of monitoring heart rate.

I don’t have the S9 Plus anymore and didn’t use the sensor when it was there. However I like features. Even if I don’t use them. I use the ones I want and the ones I don’t I just leave them be. Someone else might get some use out of it.

Samsung don’t have many gimmicky features these days. I always wondered if some of these things were either better received in Asia or were just a way to differentiate themselves from all the other android OEMs in places like China.

 

[I7guy]

I don’t think it’s very useful because it has to be manually activated. The one on my Apple Watch does it passively.

However it’s still there if people want it.

I think they (Samsung) deserve some credit for their features even if I wouldn’t personally use them.

I don’t think I’d ever use FaceTime with 34 people but it’s still pretty cool.

I’ll probably never use walkie talkie on my Apple Watch but it’s still a cool feature.

I would use group FaceTime with my family. Maybe not 34 people, but it’s nice to know I can do it.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I would use group FaceTime with my family. Maybe not 34 people, but it’s nice to know I can do it.

Yep definitely nice to have.

 

[mib1800]

Therein lies the issue - including a feature of dubious value for the sake of an extra bullet point.

The advantage of a heart rate sensor on my watch is that it is constantly tracking my heart rate throughout the day, without me even having to think about this, so I am able to view my heart rate throughout the day and spot any anomalies.

Putting one on a phone? That’s the definition of a gimmick right there.

No everyone wants to wear a watch especially one that needs to be charged.

 

[I7guy]

No everyone wants to wear a watch especially one that needs to be charged.

True, but given there is a market for fitness and smart watches, sone people want one. Not everyone wants to take their pulse with a phone though.

 

[Dave.UK]

Ooof! My apologies for inaccurate information. I don't care enough about Samsung to research it either.

Maybe stick to posting what you know then

 

[Abazigal]

I bought my mother, cousin, and sister an iPhone 8+ last year. And my niece an iPhone X. They all came from Android phones and are not tech savvy. Months later I asked them what do they like better, and they all had an indifference of comparison. The only thing my mother liked better about her previous Note 4 was the S-pen, everything else was in the realm of "they both work fine for me" type of answers. This is the common ground between most mainstream consumers. It's brand symbolism that makes the mainstream feel that the iPhone is automatically the top choice of phone. When that brand symbolism deteriorates (which it's slowly already starting to), then iPhone sales will plummet. History proves companies that put their own vision above the consumers, always fall from the top hard and fast.

I have been thinking about this point all day, even after my earlier responses, and I think I have hit on the crux of the matter.

In a nutshell, the entire argument can be summed up with one word - trust.

We Apple users buy Apple gear because we trust Apple, and I think that this is one of the really important aspects of Apple that people really don't understand. That Apple really goes the distance in building trust relationships with their customers.

For me, my trust in Apple has been built up over the years from my Apple products working the way I want them to, and the few times I have had issues with them, Apple came through by replacing them right off the bat.

This doesn't mean that Apple is perfect or beyond reproach. Far from it, but Apple has been very good in the areas that I do care about, while I find I can still tolerate the areas in which they are weak in. Their relatively few competitors are the inverse, and I think you will find that while a lot of Apple users may struggle to articulate this point, it will nevertheless come out along this line if you poke them the right way.

It's the same as how people connect with their babysitter or hairdresser. I don't evaluate them solely on objective metrics as I would a tender for a project at a company. Instead, we connect based on how well we communicate with each other, whether we trust them to be truthful and fair with us, how well we approach a given problem, and so on. That doesn't mean I am a cultist to the 40-year-old down the street who cuts my hair out of her apartment; it just means that my mom and I trust her and have built a rapport with her, and that's about 90% of what we're buying as part of that service.

To sum it all up, Apple users buy trust, not specs.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I have been thinking about this point all day, even after my earlier responses, and I think I have hit on the crux of the matter.

In a nutshell, the entire argument can be summed up with one word - trust.

We Apple users buy Apple gear because we trust Apple, and I think that this is one of the really important aspects of Apple that people really don't understand. That Apple really goes the distance in building trust relationships with their customers.

For me, my trust in Apple has been built up over the years from my Apple products working the way I want them to, and the few times I have had issues with them, Apple came through by replacing them right off the bat.

This doesn't mean that Apple is perfect or beyond reproach. Far from it, but Apple has been very good in the areas that I do care about, while I find I can still tolerate the areas in which they are weak in. Their relatively few competitors are the inverse, and I think you will find that while a lot of Apple users may struggle to articulate this point, it will nevertheless come out along this line if you poke them the right way.

It's the same as how people connect with their babysitter or hairdresser. I don't evaluate them solely on objective metrics as I would a tender for a project at a company. Instead, we connect based on how well we communicate with each other, whether we trust them to be truthful and fair with us, how well we approach a given problem, and so on. That doesn't mean I am a cultist to the 40-year-old down the street who cuts my hair out of her apartment; it just means that my mom and I trust her and have built a rapport with her, and that's about 90% of what we're buying as part of that service.

To sum it all up, Apple users buy trust, not specs.

I think people trust what they know. They continue to use something if it’s worked well for them in the past.

Part of the reason why I get a Samsung phone when I want to try out android is because I’ve used Samsung phones on the past. I know what to expect and I’ve had a good experience with them so I’m willing to try them again.

Same with Apple. I can buy the iPhone X plus unseen because I trust Apple, because I’ve had a good experience with them in the past.

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

I have been thinking about this point all day, even after my earlier responses.........

You really need to get a life