commentary Samsung's fresh Galaxy S4 accessories are geared against alcove markets, but they additionally force consumers to acquire some compromises in agreement of accouterments specs. Will the action work?
Samsung has broadcast its Galaxy S4 ancestors of articles to abode to alcove markets, but consumers will acceptable acquisition trade-offs in assertive blueprint and functionality in these devices.
The aggregation has been touting the broadcast ancestors of Galaxy S smartphones for a brace of months now. But beforehand this week, at its accident in London, Samsung accurately talked up the three fresh additions to its Galaxy S4 ancestors of devices. The fresh accessories are meant to abode alcove markets. But in dressmaking the accessories for specific audiences, Samsung has adulterated some of the amount blueprint that accomplish the Samsung Galaxy S4 one of the best avant-garde smartphones on the market.
The Galaxy S4 Zoom
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom is a camera aboriginal but additionally happens to be a smartphone. The accessory is advised to accommodate shutterbugs with a abundant bigger camera that offers a 10x optical zoom. But back it comes to the buzz allotment of the device, it's absolutely no Samsung Galaxy S4. CNET UK's Andrew Hoyle, who took a attending at the accessory at the London event, said "its 4.3-inch, 960×540-pixel affectation and 1.5GHz dual-core processor are abundant beneath absorbing specs than the accepted Galaxy S4."
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Alive is advised as a asperous adaptation of the Galaxy S4. It's baptize aggressive up to a abyss of 1 meter, according to the company, and it's additionally bank and dust-proof, suggesting it's a absolute accessory to booty to the beach. And absolutely it's one of the added avant-garde and high-end smartphones in this asperous category. But is it absolutely a GS4? Well, the name absolutely indicates that it is, but some of the specs that accomplish the Galaxy S4 a accurate high-end smartphone are missing in this device. For example, while the GS4 sports an absorbing AMOLED affectation that produces absolutely abundant colors, the GS4 Alive has a beneath big-ticket LCD screen, which isn't as bright and artlessly doesn't attending as alive as AMOLED. The camera has additionally been downgraded. Instead of a 13 megapixel camera, such as the one on the flagship GS4, the GS4 Active's camera is alone 8 megapixels.
The Galaxy S4 Alive
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is actuality alleged the little brother of the Galaxy S4. It's accurately meant to be abate and beneath big-ticket than the Galaxy S4. And to be clear, it's not absolutely targeted at the U.S. market. It's absolutely meant to extend the GS4 cast to markets area phones are not about subsidized by carriers. At any rate, it should appear as little abruptness that the specs on the GS4 Mini additionally don't bout those of the bigger GS4. While it does action a Super AMOLED display, it comes with a slower 1.7GHz dual-core processor, alone 8GB of centralized memory, and an 8-megapixel camera.
I am not at all suggesting that the specs on these phones are not acceptable abundant for abounding users. They absolutely are. And abounding consumers ability never apprehension the difference. But the actuality is that while the phones action the Samsung Galaxy S4 name, they may not be all that agnate to the flagship Galaxy S4, which could abash or abort some consumers.
The catechism again becomes if this ability present a botheration for Samsung in the approaching and possibly adulterate the high-end cast it has spent years and millions of dollars building.
"Samsung has to advance some amount 'Galaxy S' attributes in anniversary branded product," said Avi Greengart, a bazaar analysis analyst with Current Analysis. "And Samsung has to abide advance in announcement for the flagship Galaxy S."
But Greengart said he isn't too afraid Samsung will falter abundant here. And he seems to anticipate the anew added accessories in the Galaxy S ancestors are acceptable enough. Still, he warns that Samsung charge still advance adamantine in business the high-end Galaxy S4.
"As continued as Samsung does that and makes a adorable flagship, I'm not that anxious about cast dilution," he said.
The Galaxy S4 Mini
Samsung's business admission has continued been to advance bags of articles at altered amount credibility and bandy them into the bazaar to see what catches on. But with the Galaxy S series, the aggregation seemed to booty a cue from Apple.
Unlike Samsung and abounding added accessory makers, Apple has been actual focused on affairs one smartphone per year. And it takes a actual one-size-fits-all approach. Customers attractive for less-expensive accessories can acquirement aftermost year's model, which is consistently discounted back a fresh adaptation is introduced.
For the accomplished few years, Samsung has ancient its Galaxy S action to attending added like Apple's approach. This isn't to say Samsung alone churning out affluence of added smartphones during this period. And in fact, it has additionally done able-bodied architecture addition aloft high-end smartphone artefact brand, the Galaxy Note series.
But back it comes to the Galaxy S alternation of smartphones, consumers about the globe, and abnormally amid the four aloft wireless operators in the U.S., accept had admission to a distinct flagship device. And like Apple, Samsung has alien these flagship accessories already a year: the Galaxy S, which launched in 2010; the Galaxy S2, which came out in 2011; the Galaxy S3, which debuted in 2012; and now the Galaxy S4, which was launched beforehand this year.
Samsung has apparent a acceptable accord of success with this approach. And for the best part, it's handsets accept been the better another to Apple's iPhone.
But now Samsung is accretion the cast and activity afterwards specific alcove markets. This ability accomplish sense, accustomed the accretion antagonism in the high-end smartphone market. But as I've declared above, it will force consumers to accomplish choices and alike some compromises.
For instance, if you appetite a asperous phone, such as the Galaxy S4 Active, to accommodated your actual alive lifestyle, you won't be able to get the top-of-the-line blueprint you'd get in the flagship Galaxy S4. The aforementioned is accurate of the Galaxy S4 Zoom. There is no catechism the camera is far above to the flagship Galaxy S4's camera, and apparently to abounding added smartphone cameras that await on agenda zoom instead of optical zoom. But a cede charge be fabricated in agreement of added aspects of the device.
Of course, the acumen Samsung is acceptable skimping on some aspects of these alcove bazaar accessories is because the avant-garde appearance included in the Alive and Zoom accession the amount of the device. And in adjustment to attempt with a assembly of fresh accessories that are hitting the bazaar now and in the advancing months, Samsung charge accumulate its costs bottomward and abode to a added arrangement of consumers.
In fact, analysts say Samsung will acceptable decline its sales anticipation for the flagship Galaxy S4 for this quarter. Beforehand this month, an analyst from JPMorgan said sales of the GS4 were "20-30 percent lower" than the close had ahead expected. And now there's allocution that Samsung is activity to cut assembly of the accessory and retire the antecedent model, the Samsung Galaxy S3, in adjustment to not cannibalize sales of the flagship.
Right now it's adamantine to say whether the alcove articles with beneath avant-garde blueprint will advice Samsung or not as it competes with the boss iPhone and added devices. The bazaar is absolutely altered than it was a year ago, with competitors such as the HTC One, the fresh BlackBerry 10 devices, and Nokia's most contempo Windows Buzz accessory all hitting the bazaar in contempo months.
Perhaps Samsung's admission is the appropriate one to take: affairs a accessory for every consumer. But there's a accident that these accessories are aloof creating a babble in the market. And they could abash consumers. It will be absorbing to see what blazon of accession the aftereffect Galaxy S4 smartphones get in the market.
