Unlike Apple's Face ID, Samsung is doubling down on fingerprint authentication with its new under-display ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. Unlike the OnePlus 6T which was the first mass-market phone to bring this kind of tech to the U.S., the S10 doesn't require the display to be on or to shine a bright light since it isn't an optical sensor. This also means it'll unlock the phone faster.
Many will still prefer Face ID, which doesn't require you to place a finger in a certain spot and can be used for Apple Pay and Safari Autofill.
Does this mean that the finger has to be placed at a certain location, even though this is an under-display scanner? It isn't an all-screen under-display finger scanner?
Yes it does (have to be at a specific location). They even show a little fingerprint graphic on the display so you know where to place your finger.
The hole-punch doesn't actually seem to give you more "useable" screen area. You can't do anything useful with the pixels above and to the right of the camera. I would also think that it has its own unique issues, especially regarding fragility and repairability. The integrity of that corner would be compromised by the camera hole, and would be more prone to breaking not only from drops, but also during repairs when swapping the display after a drop. I would also think that it must be a pain to address those pixels from the controller, too. My $0.02, as ever.
It seems to me that this, along with slower iPhone sales, is an industry game changer: Specifically that Apple has been dragged into a new phase of war based on features and price.
Specifically Apple will now have to seriously start thinking competition over gross margin. While they will continue to compete at the high end on technical features without regard to price, at the mid level they will need to compete on both features and price. They're free ride is over. Samsung just threw down the gauntlet.
I disagree with literally everything you just wrote. It's not a "game changer" in any sense. It's a nice incremental upgrade with some cool features. It's not going to sway Apple device people. It's not redefining the market. Apple has been "dragged" into nothing. Samsung is setting their pricing based on Apple's.
I have no idea what "competition over gross margin" means. There is always competition. Pricing will depend on sales and market conditions as well as the product itself. What we are seeing now is a saturated smartphone market with a longer upgrade cycle and few distinguishable features between brands. The S10 series will do nothing to change the market dynamic right now.
I'm fine with Samsung having some truly competitive phones (unless you like security that is) at competitive price points. Competition is good, it keeps Apple (and everyone) on their toes.
That said, I don't care how great their cameras allegedly are ... after the reading I've been doing, I wouldn't touch a Huawei phone if you gave me one for free. Google and Android are quite bad enough about personal info, but China takes this to a whole new level.
Yeh, Donald has declared war (trade war) on all things Chinese. The spying thing is just the standard Republican tactic of trash talking their opponent.
You can't be for real. Seriously, a political comment? You actually deny that Huawei is a major security risk and that China itself is stealing information and tech at an unprecedented level? By the way, Republicans aren't known for pushing trade wars. The President is breaking with decades of free trade orthodoxy. I won't get into whether or not I agree with it, but facts are facts. It's far more than "trash talk." He's talked like this for 30 years, even when he was a member of the other party.
It’s still Android. Last year I began managing an app for our company and I had to buy Android test devices and learn the OS. I’ve always been an Apple person and honestly I assumed that Android was probably about as good as iOS, but boy was I wrong. The UX of Android is horrible, and it is different on each device made by different manufacturers. The much-heralded better “customization” of Android is really just a cover for a lack of basic features. And talk about a nightmare for development. I’ll give you a good example: video.
On iOS, all I have to do is make sure our video works on the latest and last version of iOS and I’m good to go. That is because iOS has a built-in video player that can be used natively by all apps. Seamless. Not so on Android. There is no video player native to the operating system. Therefore each manufacturer, in conjunction with your carrier, bundles a different video player with each device. Usually this is some cheap video player that has problems with all manner of video encoding. We have four testing devices and when we first tested video in our app, it played fine on one device, audio didn’t play on another, video played on another but no audio, and on the last the video didn’t work at all. No, not a joke, really. We then downloaded another third-party video player (VLC, considered to be best in class) onto each device and, yes, video worked on all at that point.
This is the much ballyhooed “customization,” you get to/have to download different third party apps to do basic functions like play video. What a nightmare for developers! This causes so many problems you wouldn’t believe it. Even if you have a good player downloaded, when the video plays it jumps out to the different app to play, and then back to your app if everything works properly, which of course it frequently doesn’t. Our app has 4.8 stars on iOS, but just 3.8 on Android mostly because of the video playback issues. I’d say 90% of our help desk tickets on the app are for Android, and probably 50% of those are for video playback problems, of which most are entirely related to the cheap player that they have installed or some unknown bug that is preventing the video player from performing correctly. I could go on but you get the idea.
Not sure exactly what your app is doing, but what about the Android MediaPlayer API?
It seems to me that this, along with slower iPhone sales, is an industry game changer: Specifically that Apple has been dragged into a new phase of war based on features and price.
Specifically Apple will now have to seriously start thinking competition over gross margin. While they will continue to compete at the high end on technical features without regard to price, at the mid level they will need to compete on both features and price. They're free ride is over. Samsung just threw down the gauntlet.
I disagree with literally everything you just wrote. It's not a "game changer" in any sense. It's a nice incremental upgrade with some cool features. It's not going to sway Apple device people. It's not redefining the market. Apple has been "dragged" into nothing. Samsung is setting their pricing based on Apple's.
I have no idea what "competition over gross margin" means. There is always competition. Pricing will depend on sales and market conditions as well as the product itself. What we are seeing now is a saturated smartphone market with a longer upgrade cycle and few distinguishable features between brands. The S10 series will do nothing to change the market dynamic right now.
"
It's not going to sway Apple device people. Probably not. Like the Mac, much of the appeal of iPhones comes from the software, infrastructure and ecosystem rather than the hardware. But, unfortuantely, both the average person and analysts tend to microfocus on hardware.
" Samsung is setting their pricing based on Apple's. " Yep! They threw down the gaunlet. The pitch will be: "For the same price you get all these cool, modern features that the iPhone doesn't have". Or, more bluntly: "For $750 do you want a great, modern OLED display or a crappy, out dated LCD?"
"I have no idea what "competition over gross margin" means." You answered your own question when you said: " Pricing will depend on sales and market conditions..."
"What we are seeing now is a saturated smartphone market"
Yep! That is why Apple will now compete directly with Samsung to gain and to keep their customers. And a big part of that will be those same customers comparing hardware features versus price. (Most ignore the fact that there is much more to the equation than hardware -- and Apple, for some reason, consistently fails to exploit those differences.)
I'm fine with Samsung having some truly competitive phones (unless you like security that is) at competitive price points. Competition is good, it keeps Apple (and everyone) on their toes.
That said, I don't care how great their cameras allegedly are ... after the reading I've been doing, I wouldn't touch a Huawei phone if you gave me one for free. Google and Android are quite bad enough about personal info, but China takes this to a whole new level.
Yeh, Donald has declared war (trade war) on all things Chinese. The spying thing is just the standard Republican tactic of trash talking their opponent.
You can't be for real. Seriously, a political comment? You actually deny that Huawei is a major security risk and that China itself is stealing information and tech at an unprecedented level? By the way, Republicans aren't known for pushing trade wars. The President is breaking with decades of free trade orthodoxy. I won't get into whether or not I agree with it, but facts are facts. It's far more than "trash talk." He's talked like this for 30 years, even when he was a member of the other party.
LOL... No, its Donald who "can't be for real". He blew his whole "spy gate" thing with another set of Tweets when he admitted he was trying to block Huawei from competing with American companies -- and suggested that we skip 5G and aim for 6G (whatever that is!)
And, you are right that Republicans are not known for Protectionist trade wars. But then I didn't say that did I? Nice strawman! You knocked it down so well! Good Job!
It’s still Android. Last year I began managing an app for our company and I had to buy Android test devices and learn the OS. I’ve always been an Apple person and honestly I assumed that Android was probably about as good as iOS, but boy was I wrong. The UX of Android is horrible, and it is different on each device made by different manufacturers. The much-heralded better “customization” of Android is really just a cover for a lack of basic features. And talk about a nightmare for development. I’ll give you a good example: video.
On iOS, all I have to do is make sure our video works on the latest and last version of iOS and I’m good to go. That is because iOS has a built-in video player that can be used natively by all apps. Seamless. Not so on Android. There is no video player native to the operating system. Therefore each manufacturer, in conjunction with your carrier, bundles a different video player with each device. Usually this is some cheap video player that has problems with all manner of video encoding. We have four testing devices and when we first tested video in our app, it played fine on one device, audio didn’t play on another, video played on another but no audio, and on the last the video didn’t work at all. No, not a joke, really. We then downloaded another third-party video player (VLC, considered to be best in class) onto each device and, yes, video worked on all at that point.
This is the much ballyhooed “customization,” you get to/have to download different third party apps to do basic functions like play video. What a nightmare for developers! This causes so many problems you wouldn’t believe it. Even if you have a good player downloaded, when the video plays it jumps out to the different app to play, and then back to your app if everything works properly, which of course it frequently doesn’t. Our app has 4.8 stars on iOS, but just 3.8 on Android mostly because of the video playback issues. I’d say 90% of our help desk tickets on the app are for Android, and probably 50% of those are for video playback problems, of which most are entirely related to the cheap player that they have installed or some unknown bug that is preventing the video player from performing correctly. I could go on but you get the idea.
Not sure exactly what your app is doing, but what about the Android MediaPlayer API?
Not really an option for us. Our app is a digital publications tool aimed at our independent sales force. As such we update with publications that are media that are held in the framework of the app. Because of this we use the default media player on both iOS and Android. This is the norm for this sort of app, it is just problematic on Android because of its basic architecture, whereas it is not a problem at all on iOS for the same reason.
It seems to me that this, along with slower iPhone sales, is an industry game changer: Specifically that Apple has been dragged into a new phase of war based on features and price.
Specifically Apple will now have to seriously start thinking competition over gross margin. While they will continue to compete at the high end on technical features without regard to price, at the mid level they will need to compete on both features and price. They're free ride is over. Samsung just threw down the gauntlet.
I disagree with literally everything you just wrote. It's not a "game changer" in any sense. It's a nice incremental upgrade with some cool features. It's not going to sway Apple device people. It's not redefining the market. Apple has been "dragged" into nothing. Samsung is setting their pricing based on Apple's.
I have no idea what "competition over gross margin" means. There is always competition. Pricing will depend on sales and market conditions as well as the product itself. What we are seeing now is a saturated smartphone market with a longer upgrade cycle and few distinguishable features between brands. The S10 series will do nothing to change the market dynamic right now.
"
It's not going to sway Apple device people. Probably not. Like the Mac, much of the appeal of iPhones comes from the software, infrastructure and ecosystem rather than the hardware. But, unfortuantely, both the average person and analysts tend to microfocus on hardware.
" Samsung is setting their pricing based on Apple's. " Yep! They threw down the gaunlet. The pitch will be: "For the same price you get all these cool, modern features that the iPhone doesn't have". Or, more bluntly: "For $750 do you want a great, modern OLED display or a crappy, out dated LCD?"
"I have no idea what "competition over gross margin" means." You answered your own question when you said: " Pricing will depend on sales and market conditions..."
"What we are seeing now is a saturated smartphone market"
Yep! That is why Apple will now compete directly with Samsung to gain and to keep their customers. And a big part of that will be those same customers comparing hardware features versus price. (Most ignore the fact that there is much more to the equation than hardware -- and Apple, for some reason, consistently fails to exploit those differences.)
They’ve been predicting this since the days of the Zune. Apple has to compete with Microsoft now! With Nokia! With Samsung! You don’t get it. Apple’s brand trounces Samsung’s. The vast majority of consumers don’t go shopping for a smart phone or a tablet. They go shopping for an iPad or an iPhone or an alternative to one of the two. Samsung will still sell plenty of these phones. But it will be nothing like Apple.
I'm fine with Samsung having some truly competitive phones (unless you like security that is) at competitive price points. Competition is good, it keeps Apple (and everyone) on their toes.
That said, I don't care how great their cameras allegedly are ... after the reading I've been doing, I wouldn't touch a Huawei phone if you gave me one for free. Google and Android are quite bad enough about personal info, but China takes this to a whole new level.
Yeh, Donald has declared war (trade war) on all things Chinese. The spying thing is just the standard Republican tactic of trash talking their opponent.
You can't be for real. Seriously, a political comment? You actually deny that Huawei is a major security risk and that China itself is stealing information and tech at an unprecedented level? By the way, Republicans aren't known for pushing trade wars. The President is breaking with decades of free trade orthodoxy. I won't get into whether or not I agree with it, but facts are facts. It's far more than "trash talk." He's talked like this for 30 years, even when he was a member of the other party.
LOL... No, its Donald who "can't be for real". He blew his whole "spy gate" thing with another set of Tweets when he admitted he was trying to block Huawei from competing with American companies -- and suggested that we skip 5G and aim for 6G (whatever that is!)
And, you are right that Republicans are not known for Protectionist trade wars. But then I didn't say that did I? Nice strawman! You knocked it down so well! Good Job!
I'm fine with Samsung having some truly competitive phones (unless you like security that is) at competitive price points. Competition is good, it keeps Apple (and everyone) on their toes.
That said, I don't care how great their cameras allegedly are ... after the reading I've been doing, I wouldn't touch a Huawei phone if you gave me one for free. Google and Android are quite bad enough about personal info, but China takes this to a whole new level.
Yeh, Donald has declared war (trade war) on all things Chinese. The spying thing is just the standard Republican tactic of trash talking their opponent.
You can't be for real. Seriously, a political comment? You actually deny that Huawei is a major security risk and that China itself is stealing information and tech at an unprecedented level? By the way, Republicans aren't known for pushing trade wars. The President is breaking with decades of free trade orthodoxy. I won't get into whether or not I agree with it, but facts are facts. It's far more than "trash talk." He's talked like this for 30 years, even when he was a member of the other party.
LOL... No, its Donald who "can't be for real". He blew his whole "spy gate" thing with another set of Tweets when he admitted he was trying to block Huawei from competing with American companies -- and suggested that we skip 5G and aim for 6G (whatever that is!)
And, you are right that Republicans are not known for Protectionist trade wars. But then I didn't say that did I? Nice strawman! You knocked it down so well! Good Job!
Oh boy. First, Spygate has nothing to do with China. You’re talking about the wrong scandal. Secondly, you clearly stated Republicans were just name calling. POTUS is a Republican. I’m saying he’s been consistent on this issue for 30 years, even when he was a Dem. Third, what’s wrong with him wanting to block Huawei in favor of American companies? The economic reasons are obvious. You’re failing to acknowledge the very real security reasons.
It seems to me that this, along with slower iPhone sales, is an industry game changer: Specifically that Apple has been dragged into a new phase of war based on features and price.
Specifically Apple will now have to seriously start thinking competition over gross margin. While they will continue to compete at the high end on technical features without regard to price, at the mid level they will need to compete on both features and price. They're free ride is over. Samsung just threw down the gauntlet.
I disagree with literally everything you just wrote. It's not a "game changer" in any sense. It's a nice incremental upgrade with some cool features. It's not going to sway Apple device people. It's not redefining the market. Apple has been "dragged" into nothing. Samsung is setting their pricing based on Apple's.
I have no idea what "competition over gross margin" means. There is always competition. Pricing will depend on sales and market conditions as well as the product itself. What we are seeing now is a saturated smartphone market with a longer upgrade cycle and few distinguishable features between brands. The S10 series will do nothing to change the market dynamic right now.
"
It's not going to sway Apple device people. Probably not. Like the Mac, much of the appeal of iPhones comes from the software, infrastructure and ecosystem rather than the hardware. But, unfortuantely, both the average person and analysts tend to microfocus on hardware.
" Samsung is setting their pricing based on Apple's. " Yep! They threw down the gaunlet. The pitch will be: "For the same price you get all these cool, modern features that the iPhone doesn't have". Or, more bluntly: "For $750 do you want a great, modern OLED display or a crappy, out dated LCD?"
"I have no idea what "competition over gross margin" means." You answered your own question when you said: " Pricing will depend on sales and market conditions..."
"What we are seeing now is a saturated smartphone market"
Yep! That is why Apple will now compete directly with Samsung to gain and to keep their customers. And a big part of that will be those same customers comparing hardware features versus price. (Most ignore the fact that there is much more to the equation than hardware -- and Apple, for some reason, consistently fails to exploit those differences.)
They’ve been predicting this since the days of the Zune. Apple has to compete with Microsoft now! With Nokia! With Samsung! You don’t get it. Apple’s brand trounces Samsung’s. The vast majority of consumers don’t go shopping for a smart phone or a tablet. They go shopping for an iPad or an iPhone or an alternative to one of the two. Samsung will still sell plenty of these phones. But it will be nothing like Apple.
Apple's brand most definitely doesn't trounce Samsung's, I can assure you. Samsung is a massively entrenched brand with a huge inertia behind it and also successfully reaches parts of the world where Apple is having a hard time. Even in developed nations the Samsung presence and brand identity always means it is a consideration for any potential purchaser who isn't determined from the outset to go for one particular brand.
They, like Apple have had a hard time of late. The S10 series, though, has once again regenerated a lot of buzz around their phones. I don't use them but I will give them credit for putting out what looks like a very strong upgrade. In contrast, Apple's last upgrades didn't generate much interest at all (apart from pricing) and has been in the news for contracting sales, which itself follows more than three years of flat sales.
Now it has to sweat out a very long wait before it can put out a new refresh. In that time, competitors are going to push the bar even higher and without knowing exactly what they will deliver around the time of the iPhone refresh, we can be almost sure that the refresh will debut features that have been on the market for a while now.
If Apple needs some buzz around its phones to sway interest its way, it had better bring something strong to market.
I'm fine with Samsung having some truly competitive phones (unless you like security that is) at competitive price points. Competition is good, it keeps Apple (and everyone) on their toes.
That said, I don't care how great their cameras allegedly are ... after the reading I've been doing, I wouldn't touch a Huawei phone if you gave me one for free. Google and Android are quite bad enough about personal info, but China takes this to a whole new level.
Yeh, Donald has declared war (trade war) on all things Chinese. The spying thing is just the standard Republican tactic of trash talking their opponent.
You can't be for real. Seriously, a political comment? You actually deny that Huawei is a major security risk and that China itself is stealing information and tech at an unprecedented level? By the way, Republicans aren't known for pushing trade wars. The President is breaking with decades of free trade orthodoxy. I won't get into whether or not I agree with it, but facts are facts. It's far more than "trash talk." He's talked like this for 30 years, even when he was a member of the other party.
LOL... No, its Donald who "can't be for real". He blew his whole "spy gate" thing with another set of Tweets when he admitted he was trying to block Huawei from competing with American companies -- and suggested that we skip 5G and aim for 6G (whatever that is!)
And, you are right that Republicans are not known for Protectionist trade wars. But then I didn't say that did I? Nice strawman! You knocked it down so well! Good Job!
I'm fine with Samsung having some truly competitive phones (unless you like security that is) at competitive price points. Competition is good, it keeps Apple (and everyone) on their toes.
That said, I don't care how great their cameras allegedly are ... after the reading I've been doing, I wouldn't touch a Huawei phone if you gave me one for free. Google and Android are quite bad enough about personal info, but China takes this to a whole new level.
Yeh, Donald has declared war (trade war) on all things Chinese. The spying thing is just the standard Republican tactic of trash talking their opponent.
You can't be for real. Seriously, a political comment? You actually deny that Huawei is a major security risk and that China itself is stealing information and tech at an unprecedented level? By the way, Republicans aren't known for pushing trade wars. The President is breaking with decades of free trade orthodoxy. I won't get into whether or not I agree with it, but facts are facts. It's far more than "trash talk." He's talked like this for 30 years, even when he was a member of the other party.
LOL... No, its Donald who "can't be for real". He blew his whole "spy gate" thing with another set of Tweets when he admitted he was trying to block Huawei from competing with American companies -- and suggested that we skip 5G and aim for 6G (whatever that is!)
And, you are right that Republicans are not known for Protectionist trade wars. But then I didn't say that did I? Nice strawman! You knocked it down so well! Good Job!
Oh boy. First, Spygate has nothing to do with China. You’re talking about the wrong scandal. Secondly, you clearly stated Republicans were just name calling. POTUS is a Republican. I’m saying he’s been consistent on this issue for 30 years, even when he was a Dem. Third, what’s wrong with him wanting to block Huawei in favor of American companies? The economic reasons are obvious. You’re failing to acknowledge the very real security reasons.
It seems to me that this, along with slower iPhone sales, is an industry game changer: Specifically that Apple has been dragged into a new phase of war based on features and price.
Specifically Apple will now have to seriously start thinking competition over gross margin. While they will continue to compete at the high end on technical features without regard to price, at the mid level they will need to compete on both features and price. They're free ride is over. Samsung just threw down the gauntlet.
I disagree with literally everything you just wrote. It's not a "game changer" in any sense. It's a nice incremental upgrade with some cool features. It's not going to sway Apple device people. It's not redefining the market. Apple has been "dragged" into nothing. Samsung is setting their pricing based on Apple's.
I have no idea what "competition over gross margin" means. There is always competition. Pricing will depend on sales and market conditions as well as the product itself. What we are seeing now is a saturated smartphone market with a longer upgrade cycle and few distinguishable features between brands. The S10 series will do nothing to change the market dynamic right now.
"
It's not going to sway Apple device people. Probably not. Like the Mac, much of the appeal of iPhones comes from the software, infrastructure and ecosystem rather than the hardware. But, unfortuantely, both the average person and analysts tend to microfocus on hardware.
" Samsung is setting their pricing based on Apple's. " Yep! They threw down the gaunlet. The pitch will be: "For the same price you get all these cool, modern features that the iPhone doesn't have". Or, more bluntly: "For $750 do you want a great, modern OLED display or a crappy, out dated LCD?"
"I have no idea what "competition over gross margin" means." You answered your own question when you said: " Pricing will depend on sales and market conditions..."
"What we are seeing now is a saturated smartphone market"
Yep! That is why Apple will now compete directly with Samsung to gain and to keep their customers. And a big part of that will be those same customers comparing hardware features versus price. (Most ignore the fact that there is much more to the equation than hardware -- and Apple, for some reason, consistently fails to exploit those differences.)
They’ve been predicting this since the days of the Zune. Apple has to compete with Microsoft now! With Nokia! With Samsung! You don’t get it. Apple’s brand trounces Samsung’s. The vast majority of consumers don’t go shopping for a smart phone or a tablet. They go shopping for an iPad or an iPhone or an alternative to one of the two. Samsung will still sell plenty of these phones. But it will be nothing like Apple.
Apple's brand most definitely doesn't trounce Samsung's, I can assure you. Samsung is a massively entrenched brand with a huge inertia behind it and also successfully reaches parts of the world where Apple is having a hard time. Even in developed nations the Samsung presence and brand identity always means it is a consideration for any potential purchaser who isn't determined from the outset to go for one particular brand.
They, like Apple have had a hard time of late. The S10 series, though, has once again regenerated a lot of buzz around their phones. I don't use them but I will give them credit for putting out what looks like a very strong upgrade. In contrast, Apple's last upgrades didn't generate much interest at all (apart from pricing) and has been in the news for contracting sales, which itself follows more than three years of flat sales.
Now it has to sweat out a very long wait before it can put out a new refresh. In that time, competitors are going to push the bar even higher and without knowing exactly what they will deliver around the time of the iPhone refresh, we can be almost sure that the refresh will debut features that have been on the market for a while now.
If Apple needs some buzz around its phones to sway interest its way, it had better bring something strong to market.
Moreso, all of Apple branded Retail SKU's, with packaging, would likely fit in just one of those Samsung Refrigerator boxes, and still, Apple would have at least 60% of profits in the smartphone niche in any quarter.
One would think that Samsung would have figured out a way to monetize their smartphone brand, but it looks like they still make more revenue shipping semiconductors and screens to other consumer electronic companies, while Apple still handily exceeds Samsung's entire corporate revenue and profit.
It seems to me that this, along with slower iPhone sales, is an industry game changer: Specifically that Apple has been dragged into a new phase of war based on features and price.
Specifically Apple will now have to seriously start thinking competition over gross margin. While they will continue to compete at the high end on technical features without regard to price, at the mid level they will need to compete on both features and price. They're free ride is over. Samsung just threw down the gauntlet.
I disagree with literally everything you just wrote. It's not a "game changer" in any sense. It's a nice incremental upgrade with some cool features. It's not going to sway Apple device people. It's not redefining the market. Apple has been "dragged" into nothing. Samsung is setting their pricing based on Apple's.
I have no idea what "competition over gross margin" means. There is always competition. Pricing will depend on sales and market conditions as well as the product itself. What we are seeing now is a saturated smartphone market with a longer upgrade cycle and few distinguishable features between brands. The S10 series will do nothing to change the market dynamic right now.
"
It's not going to sway Apple device people. Probably not. Like the Mac, much of the appeal of iPhones comes from the software, infrastructure and ecosystem rather than the hardware. But, unfortuantely, both the average person and analysts tend to microfocus on hardware.
" Samsung is setting their pricing based on Apple's. " Yep! They threw down the gaunlet. The pitch will be: "For the same price you get all these cool, modern features that the iPhone doesn't have". Or, more bluntly: "For $750 do you want a great, modern OLED display or a crappy, out dated LCD?"
"I have no idea what "competition over gross margin" means." You answered your own question when you said: " Pricing will depend on sales and market conditions..."
"What we are seeing now is a saturated smartphone market"
Yep! That is why Apple will now compete directly with Samsung to gain and to keep their customers. And a big part of that will be those same customers comparing hardware features versus price. (Most ignore the fact that there is much more to the equation than hardware -- and Apple, for some reason, consistently fails to exploit those differences.)
They’ve been predicting this since the days of the Zune. Apple has to compete with Microsoft now! With Nokia! With Samsung! You don’t get it. Apple’s brand trounces Samsung’s. The vast majority of consumers don’t go shopping for a smart phone or a tablet. They go shopping for an iPad or an iPhone or an alternative to one of the two. Samsung will still sell plenty of these phones. But it will be nothing like Apple.
Apple's brand most definitely doesn't trounce Samsung's, I can assure you. Samsung is a massively entrenched brand with a huge inertia behind it and also successfully reaches parts of the world where Apple is having a hard time. Even in developed nations the Samsung presence and brand identity always means it is a consideration for any potential purchaser who isn't determined from the outset to go for one particular brand.
They, like Apple have had a hard time of late. The S10 series, though, has once again regenerated a lot of buzz around their phones. I don't use them but I will give them credit for putting out what looks like a very strong upgrade. In contrast, Apple's last upgrades didn't generate much interest at all (apart from pricing) and has been in the news for contracting sales, which itself follows more than three years of flat sales.
Now it has to sweat out a very long wait before it can put out a new refresh. In that time, competitors are going to push the bar even higher and without knowing exactly what they will deliver around the time of the iPhone refresh, we can be almost sure that the refresh will debut features that have been on the market for a while now.
If Apple needs some buzz around its phones to sway interest its way, it had better bring something strong to market.
Moreso, all of Apple branded Retail SKU's, with packaging, would likely fit in just one of those Samsung Refrigerator boxes, and still, Apple would have at least 60% of profits in the smartphone niche in any quarter.
One would think that Samsung would have figured out a way to monetize their smartphone brand, but it looks like they still make more revenue shipping semiconductors and screens to other consumer electronic companies, while Apple still handily exceeds Samsung's entire corporate revenue and profit.
It seems to me that this, along with slower iPhone sales, is an industry game changer: Specifically that Apple has been dragged into a new phase of war based on features and price.
Specifically Apple will now have to seriously start thinking competition over gross margin. While they will continue to compete at the high end on technical features without regard to price, at the mid level they will need to compete on both features and price. They're free ride is over. Samsung just threw down the gauntlet.
I disagree with literally everything you just wrote. It's not a "game changer" in any sense. It's a nice incremental upgrade with some cool features. It's not going to sway Apple device people. It's not redefining the market. Apple has been "dragged" into nothing. Samsung is setting their pricing based on Apple's.
I have no idea what "competition over gross margin" means. There is always competition. Pricing will depend on sales and market conditions as well as the product itself. What we are seeing now is a saturated smartphone market with a longer upgrade cycle and few distinguishable features between brands. The S10 series will do nothing to change the market dynamic right now.
"
It's not going to sway Apple device people. Probably not. Like the Mac, much of the appeal of iPhones comes from the software, infrastructure and ecosystem rather than the hardware. But, unfortuantely, both the average person and analysts tend to microfocus on hardware.
" Samsung is setting their pricing based on Apple's. " Yep! They threw down the gaunlet. The pitch will be: "For the same price you get all these cool, modern features that the iPhone doesn't have". Or, more bluntly: "For $750 do you want a great, modern OLED display or a crappy, out dated LCD?"
"I have no idea what "competition over gross margin" means." You answered your own question when you said: " Pricing will depend on sales and market conditions..."
"What we are seeing now is a saturated smartphone market"
Yep! That is why Apple will now compete directly with Samsung to gain and to keep their customers. And a big part of that will be those same customers comparing hardware features versus price. (Most ignore the fact that there is much more to the equation than hardware -- and Apple, for some reason, consistently fails to exploit those differences.)
They’ve been predicting this since the days of the Zune. Apple has to compete with Microsoft now! With Nokia! With Samsung! You don’t get it. Apple’s brand trounces Samsung’s. The vast majority of consumers don’t go shopping for a smart phone or a tablet. They go shopping for an iPad or an iPhone or an alternative to one of the two. Samsung will still sell plenty of these phones. But it will be nothing like Apple.
Apple's brand most definitely doesn't trounce Samsung's, I can assure you. Samsung is a massively entrenched brand with a huge inertia behind it and also successfully reaches parts of the world where Apple is having a hard time. Even in developed nations the Samsung presence and brand identity always means it is a consideration for any potential purchaser who isn't determined from the outset to go for one particular brand.
They, like Apple have had a hard time of late. The S10 series, though, has once again regenerated a lot of buzz around their phones. I don't use them but I will give them credit for putting out what looks like a very strong upgrade. In contrast, Apple's last upgrades didn't generate much interest at all (apart from pricing) and has been in the news for contracting sales, which itself follows more than three years of flat sales.
Now it has to sweat out a very long wait before it can put out a new refresh. In that time, competitors are going to push the bar even higher and without knowing exactly what they will deliver around the time of the iPhone refresh, we can be almost sure that the refresh will debut features that have been on the market for a while now.
If Apple needs some buzz around its phones to sway interest its way, it had better bring something strong to market.
Moreso, all of Apple branded Retail SKU's, with packaging, would likely fit in just one of those Samsung Refrigerator boxes, and still, Apple would have at least 60% of profits in the smartphone niche in any quarter.
One would think that Samsung would have figured out a way to monetize their smartphone brand, but it looks like they still make more revenue shipping semiconductors and screens to other consumer electronic companies, while Apple still handily exceeds Samsung's entire corporate revenue and profit.
Interbrand? Are you serious?
I am not talking about monetising brands!
Money has nothing to with it.
In the fantasy world that you create in your head, it never does.
What you are talking about is distribution, not brand.
It seems to me that this, along with slower iPhone sales, is an industry game changer: Specifically that Apple has been dragged into a new phase of war based on features and price.
Specifically Apple will now have to seriously start thinking competition over gross margin. While they will continue to compete at the high end on technical features without regard to price, at the mid level they will need to compete on both features and price. They're free ride is over. Samsung just threw down the gauntlet.
I disagree with literally everything you just wrote. It's not a "game changer" in any sense. It's a nice incremental upgrade with some cool features. It's not going to sway Apple device people. It's not redefining the market. Apple has been "dragged" into nothing. Samsung is setting their pricing based on Apple's.
I have no idea what "competition over gross margin" means. There is always competition. Pricing will depend on sales and market conditions as well as the product itself. What we are seeing now is a saturated smartphone market with a longer upgrade cycle and few distinguishable features between brands. The S10 series will do nothing to change the market dynamic right now.
"
It's not going to sway Apple device people. Probably not. Like the Mac, much of the appeal of iPhones comes from the software, infrastructure and ecosystem rather than the hardware. But, unfortuantely, both the average person and analysts tend to microfocus on hardware.
" Samsung is setting their pricing based on Apple's. " Yep! They threw down the gaunlet. The pitch will be: "For the same price you get all these cool, modern features that the iPhone doesn't have". Or, more bluntly: "For $750 do you want a great, modern OLED display or a crappy, out dated LCD?"
"I have no idea what "competition over gross margin" means." You answered your own question when you said: " Pricing will depend on sales and market conditions..."
"What we are seeing now is a saturated smartphone market"
Yep! That is why Apple will now compete directly with Samsung to gain and to keep their customers. And a big part of that will be those same customers comparing hardware features versus price. (Most ignore the fact that there is much more to the equation than hardware -- and Apple, for some reason, consistently fails to exploit those differences.)
They’ve been predicting this since the days of the Zune. Apple has to compete with Microsoft now! With Nokia! With Samsung! You don’t get it. Apple’s brand trounces Samsung’s. The vast majority of consumers don’t go shopping for a smart phone or a tablet. They go shopping for an iPad or an iPhone or an alternative to one of the two. Samsung will still sell plenty of these phones. But it will be nothing like Apple.
Apple's brand most definitely doesn't trounce Samsung's, I can assure you. Samsung is a massively entrenched brand with a huge inertia behind it and also successfully reaches parts of the world where Apple is having a hard time. Even in developed nations the Samsung presence and brand identity always means it is a consideration for any potential purchaser who isn't determined from the outset to go for one particular brand.
They, like Apple have had a hard time of late. The S10 series, though, has once again regenerated a lot of buzz around their phones. I don't use them but I will give them credit for putting out what looks like a very strong upgrade. In contrast, Apple's last upgrades didn't generate much interest at all (apart from pricing) and has been in the news for contracting sales, which itself follows more than three years of flat sales.
Now it has to sweat out a very long wait before it can put out a new refresh. In that time, competitors are going to push the bar even higher and without knowing exactly what they will deliver around the time of the iPhone refresh, we can be almost sure that the refresh will debut features that have been on the market for a while now.
If Apple needs some buzz around its phones to sway interest its way, it had better bring something strong to market.
Moreso, all of Apple branded Retail SKU's, with packaging, would likely fit in just one of those Samsung Refrigerator boxes, and still, Apple would have at least 60% of profits in the smartphone niche in any quarter.
One would think that Samsung would have figured out a way to monetize their smartphone brand, but it looks like they still make more revenue shipping semiconductors and screens to other consumer electronic companies, while Apple still handily exceeds Samsung's entire corporate revenue and profit.
Interbrand? Are you serious?
I am not talking about monetising brands!
Money has nothing to with it.
In the fantasy world that you create in your head, it never does.
What you are talking about is distribution, not brand.
No. I'm talking about exactly what I said and what I detailed. Not in my head. Not in any fantasy world:
Comments
Yes it does (have to be at a specific location). They even show a little fingerprint graphic on the display so you know where to place your finger.
I disagree with literally everything you just wrote. It's not a "game changer" in any sense. It's a nice incremental upgrade with some cool features. It's not going to sway Apple device people. It's not redefining the market. Apple has been "dragged" into nothing. Samsung is setting their pricing based on Apple's.
I have no idea what "competition over gross margin" means. There is always competition. Pricing will depend on sales and market conditions as well as the product itself. What we are seeing now is a saturated smartphone market with a longer upgrade cycle and few distinguishable features between brands. The S10 series will do nothing to change the market dynamic right now.
You can't be for real. Seriously, a political comment? You actually deny that Huawei is a major security risk and that China itself is stealing information and tech at an unprecedented level? By the way, Republicans aren't known for pushing trade wars. The President is breaking with decades of free trade orthodoxy. I won't get into whether or not I agree with it, but facts are facts. It's far more than "trash talk." He's talked like this for 30 years, even when he was a member of the other party.
Probably not. Like the Mac, much of the appeal of iPhones comes from the software, infrastructure and ecosystem rather than the hardware. But, unfortuantely, both the average person and analysts tend to microfocus on hardware.
" Samsung is setting their pricing based on Apple's. "
Yep! They threw down the gaunlet. The pitch will be: "For the same price you get all these cool, modern features that the iPhone doesn't have". Or, more bluntly: "For $750 do you want a great, modern OLED display or a crappy, out dated LCD?"
"I have no idea what "competition over gross margin" means."
You answered your own question when you said: " Pricing will depend on sales and market conditions..."
And, you are right that Republicans are not known for Protectionist trade wars. But then I didn't say that did I? Nice strawman! You knocked it down so well! Good Job!
https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/22/18235238/iphone-android-foldable-display-phone-design-mwc-2019
They, like Apple have had a hard time of late. The S10 series, though, has once again regenerated a lot of buzz around their phones. I don't use them but I will give them credit for putting out what looks like a very strong upgrade. In contrast, Apple's last upgrades didn't generate much interest at all (apart from pricing) and has been in the news for contracting sales, which itself follows more than three years of flat sales.
Now it has to sweat out a very long wait before it can put out a new refresh. In that time, competitors are going to push the bar even higher and without knowing exactly what they will deliver around the time of the iPhone refresh, we can be almost sure that the refresh will debut features that have been on the market for a while now.
If Apple needs some buzz around its phones to sway interest its way, it had better bring something strong to market.
You literally are full of shit.
Moreso, all of Apple branded Retail SKU's, with packaging, would likely fit in just one of those Samsung Refrigerator boxes, and still, Apple would have at least 60% of profits in the smartphone niche in any quarter.
One would think that Samsung would have figured out a way to monetize their smartphone brand, but it looks like they still make more revenue shipping semiconductors and screens to other consumer electronic companies, while Apple still handily exceeds Samsung's entire corporate revenue and profit.
I am not talking about monetising brands!
Money has nothing to with it.
What you are talking about is distribution, not brand.
Brand recognition!
Plain and simple.
check it out