{"id":1768,"date":"2020-02-18T13:52:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-18T13:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/insights\/?p=1768"},"modified":"2023-01-27T06:23:57","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T06:23:57","slug":"unpacked-2020-unpacking-themes-behind-samsungs-next-decade-of-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/unpacked-2020-unpacking-themes-behind-samsungs-next-decade-of-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"#Unpacked 2020\u2013Unpacking themes behind Samsung\u2019s next decade of innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_1769\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1769\" style=\"width: 702px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2P2Rcd0\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1769 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Unpacked_2020_Unpacking_themes_TantraAnalyst.jpg\" alt=\"Samsung\" width=\"702\" height=\"336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Unpacked_2020_Unpacking_themes_TantraAnalyst.jpg 702w, https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Unpacked_2020_Unpacking_themes_TantraAnalyst-300x144.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Unpacked_2020_Unpacking_themes_TantraAnalyst-700x336.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Unpacked_2020_Unpacking_themes_TantraAnalyst-20x10.jpg 20w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1769\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">RCR Wireless, February 18, 2020<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Samsung\u2019s much-awaited yearly event, \u201c<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><a style=\"color: #800000;\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2SXPMnk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Galaxy Unpacked 2020<\/a><\/span>,\u201d has come and gone. It had all the pomp and glitter of a major event of a major consumer electronic enterprise. As expected, new flagship smartphones and other devices were announced and demonstrated. There have been numerous stories written, hands-on videos shared, and reviews published in the last few days. Now that the adrenaline rush has subsided, it is worth going beyond the headlines to explore the underlying themes that the product-focused news might have missed.\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #808080;\">As the event unfolded, I observed three distinct themes nicely weaved into the storyline:<\/span><\/h6>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Convergence of 5G, AI and IoT<\/span><\/h6>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Partnerships, especially with web giants<\/span><\/h6>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Ongoing experimentation with new form factors<\/span><\/h6>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #808080;\">There was ample indication that these will drive Samsung\u2019s next decade of innovation.\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Convergence of 5G, AI, and IoT\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h6>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #808080;\">As assertively claimed by Samsung\u2019s\u00a0 Mobile chief,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><a style=\"color: #800000;\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2SRchbG\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr. TM Roh<\/a><\/span>, the convergence of these three defining technologies of our time\u20145G, AI, and IoT\u2014will become the basis for the company\u2019s Galaxy devices. Although not overtly, this was a clear thread across the products announced during the event.<\/span><\/h6>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #808080;\">There was wall-to-wall news coverage of\u00a0<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><a style=\"color: #800000;\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/37EJsEu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Galaxy S20\u2019s<\/a><\/span>\u00a0extraordinary multi-camera system with108MP resolution, 100x zoom and large sensor, 8K video and more. Its pictures and videos are made more real with stunning quality using built-in AI. With these capabilities, S20 is indeed a professional content creation device, as many creators attested during the event. In such a case, super-fast connectivity and extreme network capacity become basic needs. That\u2019s where 5G comes in, allowing users to quickly and widely share their high-quality content with everyone.\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Support for 5G across the flagship Galaxy S20 portfolio makes a bold statement about Samsung\u2019s unwavering commitment and belief in the power of 5G. In addition to smartphones, Samsung also has a large and fast-growing 5G cellular network business, going toe-to-toe with major players such as Ericsson, Nokia, and Huawei. Samsung is indeed putting its money where its mouth is.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Three key things caught my eye in the Galaxy S20 lineup. First, a flagship 5G phone by Samsung for less than $1000. That is a welcome development and a trend in the right direction. This also gives a clear indication that 5G is becoming mainstream, and that is good for the rapid growth of 5G.\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #808080;\">\u00a0Second, the standard S20 only supports the Sub-6GHz bands while the Ultra and Plus versions support both Sub-6GHz and millimeter wave (mmW) bands. That means mmW support, which allows phones to achieve the 5G\u2019s famed multi-gigabit speeds, has now become a tiering feature. Smartphone vendors looking to cut costs might make mass-market 5G smartphones Sub-6GHz only, potentially making this a trend. That will surely hurt operators in the long run, as these phones will crowd-out the limited spectrum, and quickly destroy everybody\u2019s 5G experience, while large swaths of bandwidth-rich mmW bands remain underutilized.\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Third, following Apple\u2019s lead, Samsung is creating a super-premium tier with S20 Ultra. This allows keeping the device prices lower (well, it\u2019s relative, I am not saying $1,000 is cheap), without sacrificing profits from high-margin offerings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Partnership with web giants<\/b><\/span><\/h6>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Samsung has been consistently expanding its partnership with web giants. That was apparent during the event when Netflix was announced as Samsung\u2019s Mobile Entertainment Partner. This collaboration should provide better integration of Netflix in Samsung devices, more tailored and exclusive content, etc. Additionally, Google Duo will be natively integrated into S20, which might help Samsung and Google\u2019s fight against Apple\u2019s Facetime app. I am not so sure about the prospect, but we will see how this transpires. In a previous\u00a0<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><a style=\"color: #800000;\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2HzyuFS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">unpacked event in 2018<\/a><\/span>, Samsung had roped in Microsoft chief Satya Nadella for an on-stage walk-on, who announced deeper collaboration between the two companies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Experimenting with new form factors (e.g., folding devices)<\/b><\/span><\/h6>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Samsung was among the first to experiment with folding phones. Ever since then, the question on my mind was, \u201cit this fad or a market trend?\u201d The first folding devices received a mixed reception and were relegated to the \u201cniche\u201d status mainly because of their high prices.\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #808080;\">A few weeks ago, Motorola came out with\u00a0<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><a style=\"color: #800000;\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2vEIWZY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Razr phone<\/a><\/span>\u00a0with a lot of fanfare. My view was that the interest in it was mostly nostalgic and the idea itself might be short-lived. The muted specs of the phone were another letdown. Then comes\u00a0<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><a style=\"color: #800000;\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2HvHgED\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Samsung\u2019s stylish Z-flip<\/a><\/span>, with impressive specs. Any doubts that I had about it being a fad went away when it was an instant hit with my wife. She said that this was a perfect fit for her purse, unlike today\u2019s awkwardly shaped smartphones. She also instantly rattled out a few use cases\u2014using it as a purse mirror, handsfree selfie taker, etc. So for her, it was more a fashion accessory that also worked as a phone. Samsung is projecting it exactly as such by collaborating with Fashion icon\u00a0<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><a style=\"color: #800000;\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/37D0dQD\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thom Browne<\/a><\/span>. Although a new Z-Flip phone will dent our family budget by $1400, as they say, \u201cHappy Wife, Happy Life.\u201d Oh! Btw, now I believe that if Samsung\u2019s fashion accessory ploy clicks, this form factor is here to stay.<\/span><\/h6>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>In closing<\/b><\/span><\/h6>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #808080;\">The Unpacked2020 event indeed was an exciting event to kick off a decade of innovation for Samsung as well as for the larger industry. Samsung laid out the themes that will underpin their development in the next decade, and those were intelligently woven into the event storyline. It would be amiss not to mention that many of the exciting features Samsung introduced were made possible by the SoC that powers them\u2014<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><a style=\"color: #800000;\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2SREcYV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Qualcomm\u2019s Snapdragon 865<\/a><\/span>. Galaxy S20s are the first premium phones introduced with this chip.<\/span><\/h6>\r\n<h6><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Meanwhile, If you want to read more articles like this and get an up-to-date analysis of the latest mobile and tech industry news, sign-up for our monthly newsletter at\u00a0<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><a style=\"color: #800000;\" href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/TA-Newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TantraAnalyst.com\/Newsletter<\/a>,<\/span> or listen to our\u00a0<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><a style=\"color: #800000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/podcast\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tantra\u2019s Mantra podcast<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/h6>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Samsung\u2019s much-awaited yearly event, \u201cGalaxy Unpacked 2020,\u201d has come and gone. It had all the pomp and glitter of a major event of a major consumer electronic enterprise. As expected, new flagship smartphones and other devices were announced and demonstrated. There have been numerous stories written, hands-on videos shared, and reviews published in the last [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1769,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-5g","post_format-post-format-image"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tantraanalyst.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}