{"id":48791,"date":"2016-08-01T16:12:32","date_gmt":"2016-08-01T13:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ngradio.gr\/en\/?p=48791"},"modified":"2016-08-01T16:12:32","modified_gmt":"2016-08-01T13:12:32","slug":"samsung-plans-phones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ngradio.gr\/en\/news-el\/technology-en\/samsung-plans-phones\/","title":{"rendered":"How Samsung plans its phones"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Samsung\u2019s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge aren\u2019t just the company\u2019s best-ever phones \u2014 they\u2019re also the phones that have turned around the fortunes of its mobile division after two years of slipping profits. The S7 and S7 Edge\u2019s strong sales were instrumental in shoring up the mobile unit, according to the second-quarter earnings<\/a> released last week, and Samsung plans to keep up the momentum at the high end.<\/p>\n

Tomorrow Samsung will announce the Galaxy Note 7<\/a>, actually the sixth main entry in its popular series of gigantic, stylus-equipped phones. The Note line usually builds on the Galaxy S series, applying Samsung\u2019s latest technologies to a larger canvas; with the S7 and S7 Edge setting an impressive precedent<\/a>, expectations for this year’s model will be high.<\/p>\n

How will Samsung match them? Kim Gae-youn might have an idea. He\u2019s the man who heads up smartphone planning at Samsung, making the calls about what goes into each model and how they\u2019re positioned in the market. I spoke with him at Samsung\u2019s headquarters in Suwon, South Korea just after the release of the S7, and he had a lot to say about exactly how the company goes about making its decisions \u2014 from screen size, to software customization, to the amount of bloatware.<\/p>\n

Conversation edited and condensed for clarity<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"kim<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n

On the S7’s design<\/h3>\n

The S7 and S7 Edge have lots in common with the 6 from last year, whereas the S6 was a really big change from the 5. So first of all, could you tell me about why Samsung made such a big design change from the S5 to S6?<\/strong><\/p>\n

So up to 2013 the smartphone market was really fast-growing. According to our customer research, people thought smartphones were a functional product. And then time goes on and the trends change \u2014 by 2014 and 2015 people think it’s not only a functional product, it’s like a product that comes along with their life. They want to have a more premium design with better aesthetics. So we caught that trend and made a decision to make a big change. We invested heavily for the metal and glass structure.<\/p>\n

How did you approach the S7 after the S6?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Actually, if you compare the S7 and S6 designs it’s a big change. The S6 Edge design has 3D [curved] glass on the front and 2D [flat] glass on the back, but the S7 Edge has 3D glass on both sides. And there’s a strong reason for that \u2014 the ergonomic design is much better in the S7. And we adopted waterproof IP68 protection even with the metal and glass blended design. It’s a quantum leap, actually. So the S7 looks very similar to the S6, but if you grab it it’s a totally different design and feeling.<\/p>\n

Why was it not possible to include things like waterproofing and a microSD slot before \u2014 what can you do this year that you couldn’t do last year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

It takes time, right? So we at Samsung scrutinize what’s the real need for the consumer, so we understand the market and the consumer needs. And we have an end goal, but it takes time. So the S6 was our first time to apply the glass and metal materials for a smartphone design, and we tried to incorporate all that the customer needs, but there was a time limit so we prioritized which features went to the S6 and then we adopted other customer needs for the S7. So it’s a matured product.<\/p>\n

How important do you think those features are, if you released the S6 without them?<\/strong><\/p>\n

So we prioritized, as I said. At the time there were technological and time limitations so we had to decide whether we were going to choose the better aesthetic design, or waterproofing and the SD card slot. We chose the better design at that time, but we understand the market needs for the higher memory size, right, so that’s why we expanded our memory SKUs to 32, 64, and 128. With the S7, now we have the SD card slot so we’re going to reduce the memory SKUs. 32GB and maybe 64GB in the future.<\/p>\n

How about removable batteries \u2014 do you think that\u2019ll ever be possible with this style of design?<\/b><\/p>\n

Not impossible \u2014 everything\u2019s possible. It\u2019s just cost issues and tradeoffs. So if we applied a replaceable battery then the thickness of the device is higher, and it\u2019s wider, and there\u2019s a robustness issue for replaceable batteries, with the metal and glass design. We can solve that! But it costs a lot. And as you know, we increased the battery size up to 3600mAh for the S7 Edge, and we have a fast charging system, and we can detect the changes in customer behavior. A lot of people are carrying battery packs. If we give the customer a replaceable battery, they\u2019re supposed to carry the battery itself and the pack charger, so it\u2019s the same kind of clumsiness. If we provide an inner battery that can be used all day, with fast charging technology, and then wireless charging on the back, it\u2019s a better solution than a replaceable battery. That\u2019s our philosophy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"galaxy<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n

On screens<\/h3>\n

As a product planner, how much of your job is decided by what Samsung as a company is doing on a technical level? For example a certain type of screen technology or camera sensor \u2014 how\u2019s it communicated to you what you have to work with?<\/b><\/p>\n

We\u2019re tightly engaged. I\u2019m deeply involved with component innovation and new technologies, so it\u2019s more like daily communication with Samsung Display and the component innovation staff.<\/p>\n

One example is curved screens. Talk me through how they made their way into Samsung\u2019s product line.<\/b><\/p>\n

So that\u2019s a long story. [laughs<\/i>]\u00a0I have a consumer market insight background, actually I was a researcher a long time ago, so I try to understand the customer more \u2014 that\u2019s my job. And then I was a product planner for TVs, curved TVs, LED TVs, 3D TVs, that was kind of my baby. So when I was the TV planner, there was a big task force including all other divisions, like the mobile division. The topic was how to utilize flexible displays, five or six years ago. From that time I was thinking how we can utilize that technology to make our product differentiated, and we used that technology for the LCD curved TVs. And then I moved here to the mobile division, so I spent almost one year figuring out how to utilize the technology for mass commercialization. It\u2019s not that easy, actually. It required huge investment.<\/p>\n

When you plan the product are you thinking about how to use the screen, or is the focus more on showing people the new technology itself?<\/b><\/p>\n

So the first curved flexible display smartphone we launched only in Korea,\u00a0the Galaxy Round<\/a>. It curves this way [gestures to show vertical curve in the middle of the screen<\/i>].\u00a0It didn\u2019t sell well. The next one was\u00a0the Galaxy Note Edge<\/a>, which has the extra pixels to display more information \u2014 you have more functionality there. We sold it globally, but it didn\u2019t sell well either. So we wondered, why did that happen? At the time we were more focused on functionality and features for the Edge screen. Then we realized that, as I mentioned before, people changed. Function is important but aesthetic design is more important. So for the S6 we focused on not only the functionality but also the design. Our priority with the S6 flexible display was design; functionality was our second priority.<\/p>\n

“WE THINK THIS IS THE BEST SMARTPHONE WE\u2019VE EVER MADE.”<\/q><\/q><\/p>\n

And now we have the S7 Edge, which feels like a more mature application of the technology.<\/b><\/p>\n

Right, it\u2019s a more streamlined design, and we think this is the best smartphone we\u2019ve ever made.<\/p>\n

So why continue with the non-Edge version?<\/b><\/p>\n

That\u2019s another thing we learned from the S6. So with aesthetic design, there is a preference between the person. With the S6 and S6 Edge we sold about 60 percent and 40 percent [respectively]. The S6 Edge was $100 more expensive with the same screen size. We did a market response survey based on the purchasers of the S6 and S6 Edge, and we realized that there\u2019s a small preference for the curved screen, so we had to have the flat and curved version portfolio set at 5.1- and 5.5-inch.<\/p>\n

Why is the Edge version bigger this time?<\/b><\/p>\n

By using the 3D Edge screen, we can make it compact \u2014 even at 5.5 inches. The width of the Edge is 72.6mm, which is the same as competitors with 5-inch or 5.2-inch screens, so the 5.5-inch is still very compact. How can we do that? Because of 3D glass and the flexible display technology.<\/p>\n

Could you have done that last year?<\/b><\/p>\n

We could have done it last year, but at the time we had 5.1-inch and 5.1-inch models at 69mm, so we realized instead of doing the same size why not release a bigger Edge to capture a more diverse segment and sell more.<\/p>\n

So who would choose the non-Edge version? It seems the Edge version has a big advantage this year.<\/b><\/p>\n

Based on our ergonomic study, there\u2019s a huge demand for the 67mm width. You know we have the Note portfolio, our second flagship. So we have two flagships for the S series on one hand, and the Note series on the other. At the end of the day we sell three at the same time, so how we manage the portfolio \u2014 that\u2019s the question, right? So last year we have 5.1-inch flat, and 5.1-inch Edge, and 5.7-inch Note. So we thought that that was the optimized portfolio at the time. But we realized that some of the compact customers also wanted a bigger screen size at the same time. Some who used to use compact phones moved to a bigger screen but still they don\u2019t want to accept the really big 5.7-inch screen, and also they want to have a compact size. So we found out what\u2019s the optimum screen size and device width, and that\u2019s the 72.x mm. We changed our portfolio a little bit \u2014 5.1-inch, that\u2019s a real compact size without 3D glass, and it\u2019s a cheaper technology. So it\u2019s a reasonable price, compact, and with all the fantastic S7 features. Then we have the 5.5-inch Edge, and then maybe in August or September we\u2019re going to launch the next Note, so we\u2019ll have a full portfolio.<\/p>\n

What about an S7 Edge plus like last year\u2019s <\/b>S6 Edge plus<\/b><\/a>, or is the Edge already big enough?<\/b><\/p>\n

Okay, that\u2019s a delicate question. [laughs<\/i>]\u00a0As I mentioned before, the market is not in the phase of hyper growing. It\u2019s a replacement market. So our goal is how we optimize our portfolio; at the same time, how that portfolio covers the entire customer segment. We think that the 7, 7 Edge, and Note, three flagships, might cover the entire market segments. But certain regions, like China or maybe India, they might have different needs, right? So based on those regional needs we might launch another flagship, but as far as I know, we\u2019re going to do only the existing portfolio. That\u2019s enough, I guess.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"galaxy<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n

On competing at the high end<\/h3>\n

I think most people agree that Samsung is the leading premium Android hardware maker, but what are your thoughts on that segment as a whole? Lots of customers have gone to Apple at the high end, then there are companies that are doing better at lower price points \u2014 Samsung feels squeezed in the middle. Who\u2019s the ideal Samsung customer?<\/b><\/p>\n

It depends on the region. Actually, we have a full portfolio. If you look at the market data, the over-$600 flagship is like 25 percent but financially it\u2019s almost 50 percent, so that market is really important. In that market there are only two players, Apple and Samsung. So the S7 and the Note brand play in that market. The philosophy of that market is innovation and to meet customer needs, so we play that market strongly. At the midrange and entry level, we compete against Chinese players. But China\u2019s players are still in the Chinese market, and you know that market is maturing, so they try to sell more products overseas. So that\u2019s the situation. So that area, the price-performance ratio is really important. We know what to do, so we\u2019re doing preemptive action in that area.<\/p>\n

But a concern for Samsung is that $200 or $300 or $400 phones are getting pretty good \u2014 they run Android, and so do high-end Samsung phones. A Galaxy is better but might not be twice as good as something from Xiaomi, for example. How do you make your more expensive phones stand out, and what are you doing to compete in the mid-range segment?<\/b><\/p>\n

So you know that our hardware is very nice. [For example] we apply two-photo-diode technology, which is only applied in the Canon 70D \u2014 it\u2019s a high-end DSLR camera using that technology. So that camera has a real value to customers. It\u2019s fast and under low light the picture quality is much better. At the same time we augment the service area [with things like] Samsung Pay. So the hardware and software and services are a key feature to differentiate our products from the midrange.<\/p>\n

Just to go back to cameras for a second. I know megapixels aren\u2019t everything, but I was surprised from a marketing point of view to see Samsung go from 16 megapixels in the S6 to 12 in the S7. Are you worried that some customers might think the camera is worse?<\/b><\/p>\n

Right. [laughs<\/i>]\u00a0So when I pushed forward that 2PD technology for the S7, that was a very hard decision to make, actually. There were so many objections about going from 16 to 12. So it was a big discussion here, and I spent almost three months trying to persuade all the stakeholders, even very high-ranking executives here, and sales people all over the world and regional product managers were against the lower pixel number. So when I was persuading them of that issue, I looked at the consumer data \u2014 what our consumer really wants. Better picture quality and brighter pictures even under low light, and faster autofocus so that we can capture babies or children moving. And nobody actually utilized the 16 megapixels. People just view the pictures on a small screen or a TV monitor \u2014 that\u2019s it. So why do we need a bigger resolution? As time goes by, the customer is going to realize that the S7 camera is better. I strongly believe that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"galaxy<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n

On software<\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s talk about software. Samsung has had a reputation for being too heavy with…<\/b><\/p>\n

TouchWiz, right?<\/p>\n

Yeah. Have you tried to cut down on that?<\/b><\/p>\n

So the early versions of Android, right, TouchWiz was like a complement. But as the Android versions go up, Android has adopted all the features and customization and functionality, so that we believe the streamlined and light TouchWiz to customize and differentiate our smartphones is the way to go. So we try to make very simple but effective and differentiated TouchWiz. that\u2019s our philosophy.<\/p>\n

Is the focus on adding functionality to Android or is it more of a visual thing?<\/b><\/p>\n

Both, actually.<\/p>\n

What are you trying to do on a visual level? Is it meant to complement the S7 hardware?<\/b><\/p>\n

Actually, I\u2019m not the right person to ask those deeper questions, we have a UX team and UX executives. But this is my opinion: we change the exterior a lot from S5, to S6, to S7, so we change the entire design philosophy, the CMF [color, materials, finish], and the form factor. So how do we innovate with the interior design \u2014 that\u2019s the UX, right? It\u2019s like building a house. We\u2019re building the exterior like, say, Spanish colonial design. But if the interior is Japanese jazz-style, is it a good house? [laughs<\/i>]\u00a0So we innovate the exterior design a lot and try to match the GUI to that concept.<\/p>\n

A few years ago Samsung sold the Galaxy S4 Google Play edition, running a stock version of Android. Is there no market for a product like that today?<\/b><\/p>\n