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My rant to Samsung

(Topic created on: 10-02-2021 11:21 AM)
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Notamech
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Samsung if you are listening I have a few words of advice for you based on my recent experience.

Personally I feel you as a company are going down the wrong path by blindly following apple. I have been a long time Samsung user and have always chosen the brand as it offered a premium experience, much like Apple, with the key difference being you offered me choice as a consumer.

I currently own a note 9 and that phone was a 0 compromise phone which offered me everything I could want in a phone back then. A stylus, a headphone jack, an sd card slot, cameras that actually took great photos heck even a charger. Remember those?

But I recently purchased an S21U and besides quality issues with the camera, it felt pretty much like a downgrade to me. You've taken away all the choice you once offered me as a consumer, blindly following the likes of Apple by removing the headphone jack then the sd card slot and the charger from the box. In doing so you have made yourself undifferentiated from other companies. You want to charge me £1300 for an S21U but after making me compromise on the things mentioned above. To to add insult to injury you give me a phone with an exynos chip with cameras that underperforms vs what my peers get in the US. Why then should one buy a Samsung vs a one plus or a xiaomi? The mi11 offers an almost similar experience to your S21U for nearly half the price. So what am I, as a consumer, paying you more for? Your marketing campaigns? I don't see any differentiation anymore in your products vs a budget brand. In fact the experience I had was so bad I sent the S21U back. 

In blindly copying apple I am sure you have made a ton of profit saving on parts and I'm sure you laugh at us suckers on your way to the bank. But what you forget is that apple have an ecosystem in place that keeps people tethered to the brand while you don't. So jokes on you. There are only so many compromises one can make before the value proposition starts to pinch. Keep this up and you are going to lose in the long run, you will be the next Nokia. You used to be the anti apple, an alternative for people who didn't want to buy apple now you're a joke. You poke fun at Apple then copy them blindly.. Haha 

People like me who do not see a difference in your products vs products from a brand like Xiaomi have already started to make a switch in our households. I have stopped using Samsung pay, Samsung notes and other similar Samsung services in order to make it easier for me to make the switch in a few months time. You do realise that with android phones switching is much easier thanks to Google? This switch will also extend to my wife my parents and anyone else who asks me for a recommendation. You have made it incredibly hard to recommend a Samsung phone today. Previously I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a Samsung because I knew your phones were the best, 0 compromise and worth the extra money. But that isn't the case anymore. 

My advice to you is to be different, be the innovative pioneering brand that we have come to know. Embrace your differentness rather than blindly copying apple. Offer me choice again. I wouldn't mind paying £1300 for your flagship if it gave me choice again. Bring back the headphone jack, sd card and ship your phones with a charger. If not, I am sure me and several other loyal customers have no real reason to pay you for what we can get elsewhere for half the price. I am sure I cant be the only one feeling this way and many here echo this sentiment. 


59 REPLIES 59
Joeeye
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Whilst I agree Samsung have been making unnecessary compromises like the headphone jack and micro sd card removal both are items I can live perfectly fine without. If they had 2 identical versions of the phone but one without them and cheaper, I'd definitely take the cheaper option.

What I disagree on is the moaning over the charger. The phone doesn't come with one but its noticeablely cheaper, just order a charger with it when you buy it and it's still cheaper than the last years model. Your gripes are just minor inconvenience at best. If it were priced the same as last year, you'd have a compelling argument, but you don't.
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Notamech
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Thats your point of view. I feel like I definitely have an argument. Just because you can live fine without something doesn't mean you should. Also just because something is cheaper than last year does not mean it's good value. My argument is that for the prices that Samsung charge I should get everything, why should I be inconvenienced the slightest bit. If I am to be inconvenienced with these minor compromises as you say then why pay over a grand why not pay half the price for a budget brand which offers nearly identical specs and is significantly cheaper. What is Samsungs excuse to price their phone over a grand. Is it not simply because they can as people like me and you are still willing to buy the brand. But no more...i won't be part of this.. Normalisation of compromises at Eye watering prices. If we continue to buy they will continue to rip us off. I am sure their profit margins on each unit they sell are astronomical.
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Joeeye
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The problem with your argument is that this year compared to last IS good value yet you complain. Its not an opinion its fact. Micro sd card value is very subjective but objectively all you lose out is convenience. You can still use the USB to connect a card if you so wish, so nothing lost.

Over to the phones themselves, the S21 Ultra is leaps and bounds better than the S20 Ultra in virtually every way. Honestly the 2 things downgraded are screen size and sd card slot (both of which can be argued very strongly are minor). On the plus side, the S21 is cheaper, even if you include a charger (and moreso if you don't need it), has a vastly superior screen efficiency, same goes for the SoC and camera setup is better overall. All its internals are superior, especially the storage speed. These aren't subjective, they are facts.

So to sum it up, you're getting a much better upgraded phone (my own usage, I get almost double efficiency to my S20 Ultra) at a cheaper price. You honestly believe the loss of SD card internally and inconvenience of having to buy a separate charger makes this deal any worse than last year?

There have ALWYS been competitors to Samsung with much cheaper devices, Oneplus comes to mind. Its no different than any other year. All you're asking is for prices to come down which is a fair point that no one will argue against.
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Notamech
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Dude. Your yardstick for comparison is last years samsung device and that's the real problem. My yardstick is the competition. You talk like Samsung are only in competition with them selves. An update to hardware each year is table stakes in todays mobile market, else why even launch a new phone every year if there's nothing new on offer? My point is Samsung is not doing anything different to warrant charging those kind of prices when xiaomi for example is doing a nearly identical device for half the price? What you are saying is last year they were bad value for money this year they are better. Perhaps so, but in the larger scheme of things they're still not good value for money in my opinion especially with the competition catching up and that is the crux of my rant. Especially because they no longer offer a no compromise flagship like they used to. And the fact that their last years flagship was bad just goes to prove that point. I too can live without an SD card a charger and a headphone jack. As you pointed out these are indeed minor inconveniences but why not buy a xiaomi or a one plus then? What makes Samsungs offering different or better?
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Joeeye
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You miss the point, competition have always caught up. This year really isn't any different. If you feel this upset this year round, last year should be a total outrage. It's better this year round, not any worse.

Why I buy Samsung? Because their phones typically haven't compromised on anything that fits my needs. I love their big displays which arguably have now been matched, but between the S21 and Xiaomi, the battery life on S21 will win easily. Samsung throw everything relevant first like 4k recording back in just the note 3 8 years ago. And today we get WiFi 6E on the s21 which will be very helpful down the line. The one point I agree with you is the limited 512GB model and no 1TB, but I imagine pricing on them would be astounding.
Notamech
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I agree.. This year probably is better than last year. I'm not saying it's worse. I'm saying it's bad value still especially keeping in view what else is out there. There was always a gap between what Samsung offered vs the competition... The screen for example.. You always knew Samsung had the best...but today that gap is bridged making it hard to justify paying a premium for the brand. Also I'm talking about buying the brand today not 8 years ago. Also on wifi6 - it has only just started rolling out by the time it's mainstream, you will probably bin your S21U.
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Joeeye
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Perfectly valid and I agree, the gaps diminished. But competition will always get closer, that's the nature of it. Samsung to me still throw everything relevant today and this generation is just superior to the last. Granted, the latest compromises are a bad direction but they still continue to push more technology than any other phone maker. That just makes them victim to their own reputation.
Notamech
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Yes! That is exactly what I am saying. They've set the bar high for themselves and are struggling to live up to it. I loved samsung devices because of that.. Like you rightly mentioned they did push more technology that no other phone maker did. The note series for example is legendary but rumours are they're killing it this year. Sadly I feel that they no longer are the innovative company they once were. Periscope cameras debuted on Huawei phones a few years ago. Xiaomi offered it in their last years ultra model as well. Take 120hz screens for example samsung weren't the first to bring it to the market. I think the way forward for the brand is to offer a no compromise device. I wouldn't mind paying the price they're asking for, if they did that.
Joeeye
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Valid points, but generation wise, Samsung have always tried to push everything technology wise first or very soon after. They haven't fallen behind, it's just innovation and advancement have stages and it takes time. What I do miss from Samsung are the older niche type phones they use to throw out like back in the day such as the Mega and Zoom.
Notamech
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https://youtu.be/WVPM6D-3aZo THIS! So true exposes how disingenuous companies have become. Even the S21U ships with a USB C - USB C cable which won't fit most old chargers.
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