This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
In my last article dedicated to the 5 reasons Samsung is worth loving, I specifically mentioned that the Korean tech giant, as any major company, has had its fair share of controversies over the last couple of years. This article will not explore that topic - we will not be talking about exploding phones and fragile first-generation products.
Instead, I will draw your attention to some of the shady (but not quite scandalous) things Samsung does which I believe deserve at least some criticism. Once again, the purpose of these articles is to present a balanced view of a company and not to simply bash (or glorify) any particular product.
This is why I have compiled, in no specific order of precedence, a list of the 5 reasons why Samsung is worth hating. These range from questionable practices to downright hypocrisy, but all points have one thing in common - they should make any Samsung user at least slightly angry. Let us begin.
Pricing and Constant Sales
I will start this list with something I consider a relatively minor issue in the grand scheme of things, but still important enough to warrant a mention. We are all painfully aware of how much average smartphone prices have increased over the last couple of years. Naturally, Samsung’s devices are no exception to that rule.
Five years ago, the average starting price of the Galaxy S lineup was about $780. Now, that number has grown to $1000 for the Galaxy S23 family. This is more or less consistent with the way the pricing of other big manufactures has evolved.
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The thing is, no tech giant comes close to the ‘deals’, ‘bonuses’ and ‘discounts’ that Samsung consistently dishes out. At this point, I simply cannot recommend buying a Samsung flagship at its suggested retail price because I know that the next price cut is, in all likelihood, just around the corner.
In my view, it makes no sense to keep suggested retail prices at these levels when so many units are being sold for much less. If anything, this just creates a sense of fear of missing out in potential buyers which subsequently pushes them to get their next smartphone impulsively, at a so-called bargain.
Buying a new smartphone should be a well thought-out decision that is not made against the backdrop of anxiety. Furthermore, I sincerely believe that Samsung’s constant discounts are one of the main reasons why the company’s devices fail to retain much resale value - another thing which is not particularly good for the consumer.
In short, I would like to assert that this strategy of high retail prices coupled with ‘exclusive’ deals not only benefits Samsung alone, but also tends to work really well on consumers. I remember being so taken aback by Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 pre-order bonuses that I almost made the (not entirely informed decision) of splurging on one.
And before someone points out that Samsung needs to keep retail prices this high for whatever reason, I would like to point out that Samsung tends to have really high profit margins on many of its high-end products. Hence why they make money even when units are sold at a much lower price point.
Exynos and Snapdragon Galaxies
The aforementioned issue was more of a pet peeve in comparison to the next one on the list. Technically, it should be noted that this particular problem is one Samsung has technically addressed with the latest generation of its Samsung Galaxy S series. Nevertheless, I still think it deserves a mention, purely because Samsung has made it clear that it has not given up on Exynos yet, and also because it plagued the Galaxy lineup for a hefty amount of time.
It was not always the case but, in the more recent history of the Korean tech giant’s proprietary chipsets, the latter have consistently struggled to deliver performance on par with the industry standard - especially when it comes to thermals and battery life. So what was Samsung’s approach to this conundrum? After all, the company wanted to simultaneously promote Exynos and to ensure the position of its flagships on top of the Android market, at least spec-wise.
Samsung’s less-than-elegant solution to the aforementioned problem was to ship two variants of its flagships - one with an Exynos SoC, and another with a Qualcomm chip. At one point, units powered by Samsung’s processors were consistently inferior - a trend which continued for a long time. To make matters worse, users had no agency in choosing their smartphone variant.
Essentially, you were stuck with whatever Samsung decided to ship in your particular region. The superior Snapdragon units invariably found their way to markets where Samsung needed to boost the competitiveness of its products. Everywhere else users (like myself, being based in Europe) were stuck with an Exynos device. This has left a bad taste in my mouth and has tainted my perception of Samsung ever since.
Samsung’s Spec Mania
The whole Exynos situation is even more absurd when you take into account how important specs seem to be for Samsung as a company. By this I mean that unlike most other manufacturers the Korean tech giant openly flaunts big numbers in its promotional materials.
I partially understand this type of marketing, given that Samsung’s fanbase, from anecdotal evidence at least, seems to care much more about specs than the vast majority of average users. However, at some point, catering to the consumer devolves into what I can most aptly describe as spec mania.
Every year, with every subsequent generation, the numbers get bigger and bigger, regardless of whether it makes sense. Case in point - the 40MP selfie camera on the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which was subsequently scrapped, because the only thing it did better was trigger body dysmorphia.
Now would be the time to mention how Samsung seems to take special joy in asserting how superior its numbers are in comparison to the specs of other smartphones, especially iPhones. There are a plethora of promotional materials that exist solely for the purpose of berating Apple’s devices.
The problem is that, as most users know at this point, specs are not everything and the camera on the Galaxy S23 Ultra cannot be considered superior to the one of the iPhone 14 Pro Max because of the higher megapixel count. It takes much more nuance than simply comparing numbers to determine which device has a (slight) edge, given that both are exceptional. This narrative of “my smartphone is better because it has twice the specs” is not only unhealthy, but also downright misleading.
Mocking Apple, then following in its Footsteps
While we are on the topic of comparison, I would like to address a common criticism that many people often understandably voice. Why is the tech community, myself included, always comparing Apple and Samsung?
There are two main explanations for this. Firstly, given how much clout both of these companies have, they are the manufacturers that play the biggest part in determining the trends that the entire mobile tech community will end up following. Hence, understanding the mobile tech market as a whole is dependent on understanding the behavior of these (competing) giants.
Secondly, Samsung itself has not shied away from openly comparing itself to Apple as I previously mentioned. Whether it be by throwing shade on the Cupertino company directly, or by showcasing an iPhone user’s conversion to foldable smartphones, Samsung openly tries to market itself as an alternative to Apple.
The problem is that some of these promotional materials have not aged all that well. Some of you might recall how Samsung tried to pretend they had never made fun of Apple for selling new iPhones without a charger. Then, subsequently, the Korean tech giant removed the charger in the box as well (for the sake of the environment of course).
I have no problem with Samsung being an alternative to Apple, or presenting itself as one. However, when you (rightfully) attack a manufacturer for consumer-unfriendly practices and then proceed to replicate them, you end up looking like a hypocrite.
Samsung is Apple’s biggest opponent and that comes with the responsibility of challenging the latter so as to ensure that it cannot get away with everything. When Samsung becomes an accomplice, rather than a rival to Apple that comes at the expense of the entire mobile tech world.
Complacency with the Galaxy Z series
This brings me to my next point: Samsung is generally not particularly good with handling the responsibility that comes with being a market leader. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the foldables market. Samsung has been the undisputed leader in this segment when it comes to sales, and in most parts of the world, if consumers want to buy a foldable, the Z series is the only option.
As I said in my 5 reasons why Samsung is worth loving article, the Galaxy Z Fold and the Galaxy Z Flip are two of the main reasons why I admire the Korean tech giant. It takes serious resolve to bring such innovative technology to the market. That being said, Samsung’s spirit for innovation seems to have ground to a halt when it comes to foldables.
There are a number of persistent issues with the form factor that are simply not being addressed. This includes the gap and the crease amongst others. Why? Because, it does not make a lot of financial sense for Samsung to invest in making their foldables any better when they face zero competition in most key markets.
This issue will likely be partially resolved this year, because of foldable releases in Western markets from Google and OnePlus, amongst other manufacturers. Still, perfecting your innovative technology should not happen only when you have market share to lose.
Conclusions
Once again, for the sake of balance, I would like to reiterate that there are plenty of things Samsung does right. However, for the purpose of this article, I have only focused on the ones it does very wrong. Regardless of how much you like Samsung products, brand loyalty is earned and should not be freely given, and these are just some of the things that should be kept in mind the next time you need to decide whether Samsung deserves it.
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