Samsung ends the Note and bets big on the foldable to rival the Apple iPhone

“In the near term, our operations will be focused on a two-track strategy: the flagship S series in the first half of the year and the innovative foldable lineup in the second half,” said TM Roh, who took over as Samsung’s mobile head two years ago. , said in a rare interview. “We will keep this strategy until there is another major success and we are working hard to make it happen.”

The world’s largest smartphone maker on Wednesday unveiled its latest Galaxy S22 lineup, equipping the Ultra model in the family with a stylus. It effectively recreates the classic Galaxy Note formula of a handset with a large display with a stylus and comes months after Samsung didn’t release a new Note in August. The company bet on its foldables filling the void and with the sales of this category growing manifold and increasing its average selling price for mobile devices.

Samsung expands Galaxy phone lineup with stylus, bigger storage

Roh said Samsung will focus on the premium segment as its growth engine and plans to expand the Note experience across its Galaxy hardware ecosystem spanning tablets and laptops as well as phones. He added that foldables will also evolve into new categories and the company plans to add one or two new smartphone form factors to its lineup within the next three years.

Roh said, “Under the post-Covid situation, the smartphone industry went through changes that could have taken a decade earlier. We are entering the second phase of market growth. Demand for high-end premium models is increasing because Consumers are using smartphones for a long time.” And in more ways than ever.”

The pandemic pulled the smartphone market out of its stagnation – growth had stalled and replacement cycles were lengthening – and Samsung is now giving people more to upgrade their phones for better video calls, gaming and daily communication tasks. Keen watches because they rely on their tools for work and play. According to Roh, thanks to the new Ultra model, initial demand from carriers and partners for the Galaxy S22 phone has increased by a double-digit percentage compared to last year.

“The Note series was getting a bit long in the tooth, and absorbing the S-Pen into the mainstream S-series was an obvious choice, especially as the company could now count on its successful foldable lineup in the second half. year,” said IDC analyst Brian Ma. “Foldables does a lot for Samsung to differentiate its offerings from the rest of the industry, including Apple, which also tends to launch its new phones at the end of the year.”

Samsung adds to risky foldable bet after strong start

Since 53-year-old Roh’s appointment in January 2020, Samsung’s mobile business has had to navigate lockdowns, plant shutdowns and chronic supply chain disruptions in major cities. He added that the company has so far worked through the spares issue and expects the situation to improve this year.

Samsung consolidated its mobile and consumer electronics businesses into a single division late last year as part of a company restructuring. The company said it did this to create a more cohesive ecosystem of products. The purpose of making your devices work together is Samsung’s commitment to Xiaomi Corp. and to help it fend off competition from Chinese rivals like Oppo, as well as Amazon.com Inc. K’s also aims to address the challenge of the Alexa voice assistant, which now spans everything from smart speakers to thermostats. Samsung will get closer to Amazon than Apple by opening its ecosystem to external partners and hardware makers.

Huawei, Honor and Motorola introduce new foldable phones in China

According to Roh, the Suwon-based tech giant sees the increasing number of foldable devices from competitors this year as confirmation that it made the right strategic decision. The company expects the industry and app ecosystem to grow as a result. Several new models are likely to use Samsung’s flexible displays in their designs, such as the Oppo Find N announced in December.

Samsung is also investing in artificial intelligence and augmented reality technology, which in its most recent earnings call promised to take a leading position in the development of the metaverse. Roh declined to give details on those projects, but said the company is spending aggressively.

“We may look like a beautiful swan, but we are paddling furiously underwater,” he said.

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.