My only requirement of a phone are an SD card slot, a removable battery that is over 3000mAh, and that it is unlocked. Don't give a damn about everything else. Sturdiness i can manage with a good protective case and i don't mind it getting thicker, in fact i hate the thin fad. So long as someone is producing such a phone, i don't give a damn about any other brand. I am however looking for the first brand to abandon the thin fad in favor of more battery.
As far as Samsung goes, they sell TVs, monitors, fridges, washing machines, microwaves, and general appliances, like hotcakes. They have such a wide audience and reach, most of whom don't give a damn about phone specs and are brand loyal, that i think they are impervious to shooting themselves in the leg.
I feel like Apples influence on the mainstream technology consumer is changing the Phone market, actually making it worse. Companies like Samsung and even Google with their Nexus line up is holding back the potential of Android Devices and many other large phone manufacturers. The lack of SD cards, imitation on the iPhones somewhat out of date style, and even the lack of Restart button in stock Android Lollipop.
The more "enlightened" users get and the more tech savvy people like the users of this forum can see that Touchwiz is holding these phones back and should stick to more minimal modifications of the AndroidOS or just stick with Stock Android.
They make up for it by expanding the base model to 32gb, I personally never managed to exceed the 16gb capacity on my phone. I think consumer influence has ruined the galaxy line. Plastic is far superior an option for mobile phones. Better wireless transmission, better impact mechanics, open able back, not a fingerprint magnet, isn't brittle, cheap to replace. This is what happens when you let magpies dictate ID.
I agree. I got kind of hooked on the Samsung bandwagon just because I hated apple so bad. Over the years I've realized that Samsung isn't so hot as they advertise.
Music primarily and and a few games. i have about 90GB of Music on my desktop. and i tend to carry 20 playlists and a lot of metal. which take up MORE than 32GB.
@SLOWION If you don't even use 32GB then it obviously doesn't effect you and realistically you probably don't even need such a high-end phone... What we are saying is it does effect some people, and a 64GB or 128GB version will cost far more than it would have to have expanded the storage with a SD Card.
So no the fact that it doesn't effect you does not make this a non-issue and is not an excuse, nor does the fact that you can pay several hundred more for that extra storage space at a hugely inflated cost make it a non-issue. The truth is samsung is just being a dick too their customers, trying to force them to spend much more than they should have too.... On phones that already cost far more than they should....
It goes both ways though. Just because you need a butt ton of storage doesn't make it an issue... Why should any manufacturer have to pander to every consumers need? It is absurd to me that any manufacturer should have to maintain every kind of option so that a minority of users will be happy. Samsung will not lose nearly as many customers as they will gain by making a good looking phone from premium materials and that is the bottom line. The storage price tiers are no doubt a scam and I'd like to see that changed but again thats not an issue for them. The majority of people will buy the 32gb model and be satisfied, anyone who is deeply concerned will get a different phone or pay for a model with more storage..
@Zareth_DeTullio Not really, he is responding to people pointing out the issues that removing the expandable storage creates by bassically saying it doesn't exist, or he doesn't care because it doesn't effect him personally. But it does exist, and it does effect people, and it is a very real material downgrade in functionality.
Keep in mind this has to be pretty good to justify the massive premium over many of it's competitors! Especially considering the emergence of increasingly better entry and mid-level phones like the zenfone 2, moto e/g, one-plus-ones, etc..etc.. The zenfone 2 will be around ~200usd, have an atom processor, a 720p/1080p screen a great battery, great camera, dual sim capabilities, expandable storage.... Samsung needs to up their game for it too make sense to buy their products...
I really like the design of the s6 edge I think touch whiz looks fresh for once and for the first time ever I would actually consider getting a galaxy device..
Keep in mind that companies like Samsung throw huge budgets for RnD and marketing and everything behind these phones. These guys have their own fabs for the memory, processor, make their own displays. It's not a situation like One+ where they can just mock up a phone in CAD from existing stuff and throw Cyanogen Mod at it and sell it at rock bottom pricing. There is a big profit margin on Samsung stuff but also a lot more invested in it.
(p.s. not a samsung fan boy, have only ever owned HTC, Nokia, iPhone stuff)
I would also like to add, also am I the only one who thinks the gorrilla glass covering the glossy plastic (or whatever is underneath it), gives it a cheap, tacky, plastic look? And that camera bump, and the battery life, and oh god they embed mcafee in it apparently....
As much as I loathe touchwiz as the spawn of satin I have to admit that the previous samsung flagships were pretty nice phones, and that those comments about copying apple were silly.. But after this, it honestly looks like a plastic version of an iphone...
What do you mean? most companies cater to the customers needs. if they don't what's the point? they aren't going to sell if they don't cater to the consumer. that is marketing 101 right there. "Why should you buy our product?". I need more than 32GBs how should you properly address it? add a MicroSD card slot. instead they decided to stop addressing something I need anymore so goodbye samsung. I'm a person that doesn't really care that my phone is pretty, i need it to function. and for me this is an issue. there are very few phones on the market that have MicroSD expansion, and for the most part the ones who have kept the expansion slot is LG, HTC and Sony. and this isn't a hate-bash towards Samsung, I've used the very first Galaxy Phone and the Galaxy S3, but i don't understand why they removed the SD Card expansion. and they can't say any BS excuses like 'It's thin or the metal body wouldn't allow us to do it" there are other companies that have very aesthetically pleasing phones that have Micro-SD card Expansion.
@Kat Yeah it does look very similar to that, although you can tell that the phone was designed to be put in a case and not too be aesthetically pleasing with that gaudy camera bump, and I still maintain that it looks like plastic at least from the videos I have seen.
A phone which did the whole gorilla glass thing right was the nexus 4, it has a much more premium look to it than the samsung's in my opinion. And I still can't understand how they can make a unibody phone and loose their water-resistance certification.. Pretty poor showing if you ask me... Expect much disappointment with battery life also. And many shattered rear pannels from drops...
The key word is "every" They shouldn't pander to EVERY consumer or you get a disaster. Think about what happened to myspace, or the xbox one debacle, or countless others. Should I still have countless legacy devices on my motherboard? You guys are assuming that since you are the vocal minority that everyone else feels so adamantly about removable batteries and SD cards and plastic phones. If you consider a lack of SD card a phone that doesnt funciton, buy something else.
How many people who wanted the new S6 wont buy it because of this? Maybe 100,000? How many people will pick it over the LG, HTC, Motorola, for the visual improvements and premium feel? Plenty. For most people a phone is the most expensive thing they buy and they want it to be a status symbol. Thats the sad truth.
@Zareth_DeTullio The Samsung Galaxy S5 was catered to everyone. Business users could use it, a regular user could use it, a tech enthusiast could use it, and anyone who needed to expand storage could do so. and the battery lasted long and was also removable. so Samsung addressing everyone is not an issue and NOT an excuse, in my opinion it looks like they want to address Apple users who want to try android for the first time with the Galaxy S6 instead of its original customers.
It didn't cater to people who care how a phone looks. I bought an HTC because that bandaid phone was not appealing to me, I didnt complain about it though, I just bought something else. Now I will consider samsung again.
I wouldn't put an SD card slot in my phone if I made one. I don't mind if you don't want it, my phone isn't for you. My phone is an exclusive device that demands a premium. I am not in the business of encouraging you to buy other peoples products to "Fix" my phone, if you want more storage I can provide that for a cost. I also have cloud servers for you, and I have made contracts with carriers who will sell you data, in exchange they will help pay for your phone.
That is a great business model.
The alternative is impossible. We made it thin, with a large battery, and a large screen, but it also fits in one hand, it has no bezels but still has room for an SD card and it has wireless charging, we also made all the ports water proof so you can drop it in the toilet.. and all of this cost so much R&D but its cheap so we sell it at a loss, and we will still make enough money to make something cool next year for you!
@Zareth_DeTullio Ok ignoring aesthetics because apparently that is subjective... What we have here is a very real and meaningfull downgrade in functionality, consider:
The lost water/dust resistant certification.
The woefully small battery for the screen size/resolution.
The lost ability to expand storage space through SD cards which is always much cheaper than buying the version with more space in it.
Ask yourself, is the 'unibody' worth this loss of functionality on the whole. And when you think about it, the number of people who care about at least one of these features, particularly the one about the phone lasting at least a days worth of usage. I imagine you end up with a considerable number of people. These features are not gimmicks, they are there for a reason, because phone producers are trying to sell their products by catering to what people need and want!
And no it's not a great business model, it is a terrible business model because you are not just failing to provide customers with what they want/need, but you are taking functionality away from them. And doing so in a competitive industry with lots of competition and little in the way of stopping customers walking away!
Most people don't want to pay more for less, mobile data in most places of the world is several dollars per GB, which shows how stupid that comment about using cloud services is. And that is ignoring the moral and security issues off handing controll of your data over to someone else. And the higher end model is not a soloution either, it costs much more than an SD card.... Multiple times more normally.
@Jacobite +1 There is a reason why apple doesn't have dominance in the phone market, cause they don't address everyone, a Company telling you what you SHOULD have is not the way of dealing with a customer. they need to address our needs which is what i've mentioned previously and is what made the Galaxy S line successful.
