Productivity Features
Image Credit – Small Android Phone Team, The Verge
In a recent article by Тhe Verge, I saw a rather thought-provoking chart which offers a unique perspective on various popular smartphones. The positioning of the Galaxy S23 Ultra was particularly interesting – it was classified as a “serious” rather than “approachable” device, and as a “tool”, as opposed to a “toy”.
This definition of “serious tool” is an incredibly apt description not only for the Korean Tech giant’s Ultra lineup, but also for its high-end devices as a whole. If you are a power user that values productivity and multitasking and you know how to utilize the vast potential of Samsung’s flagships (and, to a lesser extent, all of its smartphones) there are few other devices on the market that can offer the same experience. Whether it is plain old multitasking, or something as advanced as DeX mode (easily one of my favorite tech features of all time), Samsung is the undisputed king of mobile productivity.
Additionally, I must confess that Samsung’s UI has come a long way since the days of TouchWiz. The company has found a way to commit to its focus on productivity, but that is no longer at the expense of usability. By this I mean that Samsung’s newest smartphones are not only “tools” in the right hands, but also markedly more user-friendly than their predecessors.
Displays
Now is the time for a confession: I used to be a Samsung user back in the day, because of one particular selling point that, at the time, Apple’s iPhones were lacking entirely. Namely, an OLED display. It was only when the iPhone X, the first Apple smartphone with an OLED display, came around that I full-heartedly embraced the Cupertino company. Nevertheless, to this day, I cannot deny how vivid AMOLED screens are. Admittedly, the colors might be a little off, but if the bold aesthetic appeals to you, this should hardly be a problem. My point is that Samsung’s AMOLED panels provide a unique viewing experience that cannot be replicated by other manufacturers. The fact that Samsung is also one of the biggest display suppliers in the industry is just further proof of the company’s expertise in that department.
Additionally, while the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max ostensibly have the best displays on the market according to most reviewers, Samsung wins an extra point for giving most if not all of its smartphones excellent panels. You will not find an $800 Samsung smartphone with a 60Hz refresh rate.
Lineup Structure
Another thing Samsung does really well is its ability to maintain some semblance of balance in its product portfolio. In general, I find that the latter is sufficiently diverse so as to offer a nice mix of entry-level, mid-range and high-end options.
Unfortunately, much of the discourse in the tech community is focused on the best of what a manufacturer has to offer. By this I mean that we tend to assess the merits of a tech company based on the merits of its most premium product. This, in my view, is a somewhat biased approach.
And while smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra are undoubtedly impressive, Samsung has a plethora of other devices that are not only good, but also give exceptional value for money. Essentially, Samsung understands that the “one size fits all” approach is suboptimal and that there is a whole market that exists beyond the $1000+ price segment.
Another thing I really like is that Samsung never gatekeeps features for the sake of making users pay more. For example, the vanilla Galaxy S23 is the cheapest smartphone in the lineup, but still comes with the same chip as the Ultra and has a screen that is actually acceptable for its price point. You do not need to spend $1000+ to get a 120Hz refresh rate.
Willingness to Experiment
One of the things I truly love about Samsung is the company’s willingness to push the limits of what is considered possible. Naturally, this involves some trial and error (and the creation of the occasional gimmick), but, for the most part, Samsung has managed to pave the way for many advances in the smartphone world.
There is actually an interesting article on the Samsung Newsroom website that offers a breakdown of how Samsung Galaxy has rewritten smartphone history in 10 Innovative technologies. There are three main contributions listed that I specifically want to mention.
Firstly, the Korean Tech giant was the company that normalized truly big smartphones. Samsung has routinely advocated for a ‘bigger is better approach’ and, when you take a look at the market, it seems it has succeeded in convincing the majority of users that that is truly the case.
Secondly, Samsung was one of the first manufacturers that put an emphasis on durability and IP ratings, as far back as 2014. Now, almost every smartphone features at least some degree of water and dust resistance. Who would have thought so many people would want to take a shower with their smartphones back in the day?
The Galaxy Z Fold and the Galaxy Z Flip
The last achievement I would like to pinpoint is so important it deserves a dedicated section. Easily, the best part of Samsung, for me at least, are foldable smartphones. The original Galaxy Fold introduced a novel form factor that is now a viable alternative to the mainstream smartphone design of the last decade.
Foldable technology takes mobile devices to the next level by allowing them to reconcile two inherently incompatible aspects – portability and productivity. The former comes at the expense of screen real estate, while the latter requires it by definition. Unless you use a foldable, that is. The foldable screen gives the user the best of both worlds.
Furthermore, it is perhaps the only way of delivering the 2-in-1 fantasy that many tech manufactures try to sell. Eventually, foldables could allow us to rely on a single device for all our consumer needs. And that would not be possible without Samsung. The company’s role in perfecting the form factor cannot be understated and I believe foldables have what it takes to become the new frontier in mobile technology.
Conclusions
In short, Samsung is the epitome of a pioneer in the smartphone world, and its role as trend-setter is very important for the market as a whole. Nevertheless, this does not mean that the Korean giant is without flaws. Innovation often comes at the expense of execution and that is why when you aim for the stars, sometimes you crash rather spectacularly in the ocean. But that is a topic for another article.
