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1. Not bringing the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 to Europe
We'll start with the decision that's freshest in the mind. There were rumors floating around for a long time that Samsung had decided Europe didn't need the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and could make do with a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ instead. But that didn't make the confirmation of those rumors any less painful.
The Galaxy Note is one of the Korean manufacturer's most complete, versatile devices, so it's not unreasonable of users worldwide to have expected the line's continuation. It has also been a commercial success, popularizing the phablet and winning over countless followers since its launch in 2011.
So why has Samsung decided to go with the S6 Edge+ over the Galaxy Note 5 in Europe? One possible reason is that the Galaxy S6 Edge was so popular that the manufacturer couldn't satisfy the demand, leading to negative impact on sales and perhaps a greater demand for a new Edge model. Other than that, it's pretty hard to say.
2. Releasing a new Galaxy S6 instead of a Galaxy Note 5
That's not the only problem with the announcements made this week. If we take a closer look at both phones, it's pretty clear they are virtually identical, with an S-Pen on one and a curved screen on the other the only clear distinctions.
In Samsung's attempt to glam up its high end offerings this year, these devices have lost a little wow factor, as well as some more concrete things – namely the microSD slot and the removable battery. Admittedly it's debatable whether these are necessary features on a phone when there are numerous wireless and cloud storage solutions, but Samsung fans made it pretty clear they wanted expandable memory and batteries and it appears the manufacturer has ignored them.
3. Starting the mini smartphone trend
Let's be clear from the start: no one likes 'mini' smartphones. They need to be stopped immediately. And when you're looking for someone to blame, you can look in Samsung's direction.
After the aberrations that were the Samsung Galaxy Mini and the Samsung Galaxy Mini 2, the company decided to continue the series with a small version of the Samsung Galaxy S III. While this may have been a smart move from a commercial perspective, attracting consumers who want the look of a high-end product without the expense, the Galaxy S III bore almost no resemblance to a top-end phone.
As a result of the high sales these devices achieved, many manufacturers now launch more modest versions of their own flagship products – think the LG G4 or Huawei P8 Lite. The makers justify the price by saying the smaller versions offer a 'flagship phone' experience at a fraction of the price. In reality though, consumers at that end of the market can find much better value than these inferior copies. So, thanks for starting the worst trend in the Android world right now, Samsung.
4. Still copying Apple in 2015
You'd think a company that's able to sell as many phones as Samsung wouldn't need to mimic its greatest rivals, in this case Apple.
Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case. The Samsung Galaxy S6, for example, mimics the design of Apple phones in several ways. The Korean manufacturer even copied the promotional image style used for Apple's iPad when it launched the Galaxy Tab S2.
Samsung isn't the only Asian manufacturer to make this mistake, with manufacturers such as Xiaomi and Meizu aping designs from Cupertino to try to attract more buyers. The fundamental flaws in this way of thinking can be seen in the success of manufacturers such as Motorola and LG, who have made the design of their phones unique.
5. The inability to make a decent mid-range phone
Despite all its success, Samsung has not been able to crack the middle-of-the-road market. The best example of this failure was the Samsung Galaxy A3, which hit stores last year. The phone had a starting price of just over US$300 but had much lower specs than many cheaper models. Phones such as the Asus Zenfoen 2 or 3 Alcatel OneTouch Idol offered significantly better all-round packages for much less money.
The reason people bought the A3 was the same reason people bought Samsung's 'minis' – the popularity of its high-end devices gave the phone a reflected prestige it didn't deserve.
If Samsung continues down this path, it may well start to lose its share of emerging smartphone markets, where consumers are less subject to brand loyalty and history, and focus just on facts.
We'll start with the decision that's freshest in the mind. There were rumors floating around for a long time that Samsung had decided Europe didn't need the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and could make do with a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ instead. But that didn't make the confirmation of those rumors any less painful.
The Galaxy Note is one of the Korean manufacturer's most complete, versatile devices, so it's not unreasonable of users worldwide to have expected the line's continuation. It has also been a commercial success, popularizing the phablet and winning over countless followers since its launch in 2011.
So why has Samsung decided to go with the S6 Edge+ over the Galaxy Note 5 in Europe? One possible reason is that the Galaxy S6 Edge was so popular that the manufacturer couldn't satisfy the demand, leading to negative impact on sales and perhaps a greater demand for a new Edge model. Other than that, it's pretty hard to say.
2. Releasing a new Galaxy S6 instead of a Galaxy Note 5
That's not the only problem with the announcements made this week. If we take a closer look at both phones, it's pretty clear they are virtually identical, with an S-Pen on one and a curved screen on the other the only clear distinctions.
In Samsung's attempt to glam up its high end offerings this year, these devices have lost a little wow factor, as well as some more concrete things – namely the microSD slot and the removable battery. Admittedly it's debatable whether these are necessary features on a phone when there are numerous wireless and cloud storage solutions, but Samsung fans made it pretty clear they wanted expandable memory and batteries and it appears the manufacturer has ignored them.
3. Starting the mini smartphone trend
Let's be clear from the start: no one likes 'mini' smartphones. They need to be stopped immediately. And when you're looking for someone to blame, you can look in Samsung's direction.
After the aberrations that were the Samsung Galaxy Mini and the Samsung Galaxy Mini 2, the company decided to continue the series with a small version of the Samsung Galaxy S III. While this may have been a smart move from a commercial perspective, attracting consumers who want the look of a high-end product without the expense, the Galaxy S III bore almost no resemblance to a top-end phone.
As a result of the high sales these devices achieved, many manufacturers now launch more modest versions of their own flagship products – think the LG G4 or Huawei P8 Lite. The makers justify the price by saying the smaller versions offer a 'flagship phone' experience at a fraction of the price. In reality though, consumers at that end of the market can find much better value than these inferior copies. So, thanks for starting the worst trend in the Android world right now, Samsung.
4. Still copying Apple in 2015
You'd think a company that's able to sell as many phones as Samsung wouldn't need to mimic its greatest rivals, in this case Apple.
Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case. The Samsung Galaxy S6, for example, mimics the design of Apple phones in several ways. The Korean manufacturer even copied the promotional image style used for Apple's iPad when it launched the Galaxy Tab S2.
Samsung isn't the only Asian manufacturer to make this mistake, with manufacturers such as Xiaomi and Meizu aping designs from Cupertino to try to attract more buyers. The fundamental flaws in this way of thinking can be seen in the success of manufacturers such as Motorola and LG, who have made the design of their phones unique.
5. The inability to make a decent mid-range phone
Despite all its success, Samsung has not been able to crack the middle-of-the-road market. The best example of this failure was the Samsung Galaxy A3, which hit stores last year. The phone had a starting price of just over US$300 but had much lower specs than many cheaper models. Phones such as the Asus Zenfoen 2 or 3 Alcatel OneTouch Idol offered significantly better all-round packages for much less money.
The reason people bought the A3 was the same reason people bought Samsung's 'minis' – the popularity of its high-end devices gave the phone a reflected prestige it didn't deserve.
If Samsung continues down this path, it may well start to lose its share of emerging smartphone markets, where consumers are less subject to brand loyalty and history, and focus just on facts.