Samsung S8 – Love/Hate
Samsung Electronics’ (005930.CH) Galaxy S8 received very significant pre-orders in its home country of South Korea, indicating consumer acceptance of the new device, yet the press has continued to badger Samsung with ‘red tint’, WiFi issues, and breakability stories, many of which seem to be oriented toward creating a controversy similar to the Note 7 recall that sold lots of newspapers and page views. Thus far, the ‘red tint’ issue, which we highlighted last week, and the Wifi disconnect problem, have been addressed with software patches, and the breakability issue, well, when you make a device out of glass, regardless of the characteristics of the glass, you have to expect it will be a bit more vulnerable than a metal or plastic case.
Yes, even with the extensive testing Samsung did before the phone’s release, problems were found, as they are with any complex mobile device, but all in, consumers make their choices based on what they like, and if a phone looks good and doesn’t explode, that seems to be enough for most users. The real test will be worldwide acceptance, as South Korea tends to favor the home team, but at the least, the early results have indicated that the new phone is attractive to consumers. Of course the repair companies are indicating that they are already seeing cracked cases and warn consumers of the risks, yet they certainly are not turning repair customers away, which tempers their altruistic tone a bit. No burning pockets, smoldering Tahoes, or burning airline seats is a good thing; maybe the tech press should focus on something else, like the potential for conflict between the country with the largest smartphone and display producers and its unbalanced northern neighbor that sits just a few miles from one of the largest display complexes in the world. Just a thought.
Yes, even with the extensive testing Samsung did before the phone’s release, problems were found, as they are with any complex mobile device, but all in, consumers make their choices based on what they like, and if a phone looks good and doesn’t explode, that seems to be enough for most users. The real test will be worldwide acceptance, as South Korea tends to favor the home team, but at the least, the early results have indicated that the new phone is attractive to consumers. Of course the repair companies are indicating that they are already seeing cracked cases and warn consumers of the risks, yet they certainly are not turning repair customers away, which tempers their altruistic tone a bit. No burning pockets, smoldering Tahoes, or burning airline seats is a good thing; maybe the tech press should focus on something else, like the potential for conflict between the country with the largest smartphone and display producers and its unbalanced northern neighbor that sits just a few miles from one of the largest display complexes in the world. Just a thought.
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