I did not think I would be writing this 3 years since buying the Samsung Note in 2012. Got the phone back then because of Samsung's appeal with a large screen and easy to use UI. The UI appealed back then. We had only Apple; which competed very strongly back then although there were others who played the game. Sony, HTC and other phones too were the clones of the Android Platform. So, it was OK to have any of these. Here Samsung did decently well.
UI still looks the same - No major Software Developments !!!
What happened today ? After 3 years.
Samsung does not appeal any more, as it used to. Reasons:
1. The more simpler and neater Android versions in Moto and Nexus phones.
2. Icons that look better and have higher aesthetic values.
3. I Phone has evolved its software, along with its hardware.
4. Amazing competition in the mid-range and low-range smartphone markets. By players like Xiaomi, Asus, Moto and others.
Lost Markets :
Samsung's strong hold according to me was never the high range phones, in the advent of the Smart Phone Markets - it was always more with the mid range phones and low range phones. i.e the sub 15K to 25K market ( mid range ) and 5K - 15K market ( low range ). Now with ASUS, Xiaomi, Micromax and other players getting stronger - these are the phones that are not selling with the Indian Market,
While Flipkart has been exclusively selling the Moto and Xiaomi. The Amazon India has been selling Micromax and One Plus. All these phones are in the sub- 25,000 range. These phones are going off like pan cakes of the shelves. In all this one year Samsung has not delivered a market steal-er.
No Change in the OS ( Operating System ) :
The Operating System or the look and feel of a Samsung Phone has not changed over the years. I went into a Samsung Smart Cafe to have a look at the New S6 Edge. The hardware is a marvel of its own, with the new curved edge. But, when i had a glance at the phone, I could not find anything significantly different from the Samsung Note that I got 3 years back. May be the phone is a little more powerful, but the Icons have not improved and for a layman, it is just the same.
While in the same time- Xiaomi, One Plus have come up with very good UI. They offer themes with the users being able to change the icons based on themes.
A Better Build :
One good thing that Samsung has gone on with - is the change from the cheap plastic to more aesthetic metal looks. Why, I would like to make a note of this here ? This is significant. An apple 4S bought around the same time as a Samsung Note would still have a beautiful exterior, while a Samsung S4 would have a rim that is discoloured with the plastic showing up and making it look bad.
Hope to see a reviving Samsung and better competition to the new players.
( Disclaimer: The views expressed above are totally a end-user perspective and personal experience )
