Oppenheimer analysts say Samsung has made some mistakes

Investment banking firm Oppenheimer told clients in a research note that Samsung is imploding. As evidence of this, the bank points out that Samsung has shipped 10 million units of the Samsung Galaxy S6. That is one million units less than the number of Samsung Galaxy S5 handsets Sammy shipped in the same number of days last year. That might seem like a surprise considering how Samsung has generally been praised for re-designing its flagship phone. Even Samsung expected record shipments this year.

But Samsung has had to fend off tough competition from the Apple iPhone 6 and Apple iPhone 6 Plus. Apple increased the size of the screen from 4-inches on the Apple iPhone 5s to 4.7-inches on the iPhone 6. The company also added a 5.5-inch phablet and the moves have paid off for Apple in the form of increased sales from those who were waiting for larger-screened iPhone models.

China is a good example of what has taken place with Samsung this year. The company has dropped from having the largest market share of smartphone shipments in the country at 20%, down to 10% and has been replaced at the top by Apple. Oppenheimer says that Samsung has made a mistake by focusing on hardware instead of software. The firm's analysts say that in listening to its critics, Samsung went overboard and removed many of the things about its software that made its phones stand out compared not only with iOS, but with other Android manufacturers as well.

Besides mistakenly concentrating on hardware over software in the eyes of Oppenheimer's analysts, Samsung also chose to go with form over function when it comes to hardware. It eliminated the IP 67 dust and water resistant certification that was on the Samsung Galaxy S5, made the battery non-removable, and eliminated the microSD slot that allowed Galaxy S5 users to add additional memory to the phone.


source: WMPoweruser