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Samsung Proves Its Business Remains Sound Despite Note 7 Fiasco (bloomberg.com)
Samsung underscored the resilience of its business when it reported its best operating profit in three years, weathering the death of its fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 with the help of its workmanlike chip and display divisions and cheaper smartphones. From a report on Bloomberg: The world's largest maker of mobile devices posted a 50 percent surge in quarterly operating profit after demand from Chinese smartphone brands pushed up memory chip prices and buoyed the unit that makes organic light-emitting diode screens. Samsung also touched up an older phone line-up with new colors and features, helping tide it over in the Note 7's absence. Samsung is emerging from its biggest corporate crisis, when reports of incendiary Note 7s forced the Korean company to kill its most profitable gadget. It still hasn't revealed the results of a subsequent investigation into an episode that cost Samsung more than $6 billion and assured Apple of the lead in premium devices over the holidays. It's now counting on its next marquee phone to repair its reputation. "Despite the Note 7's vacuum, Samsung acquitted itself well on the back of sound S7 sales," said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst with IBK Securities Co. in Seoul. "After a softer landing in the first quarter, Samsung is on track for record June quarter profit with the new S8 coming to market."
Damn, Samsung is so hot!
Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
Provide vanilla android and compete with Chinese manufacturers selling similar speced phones for half the price. I don't see it happen.
Samsung don't sell Android devices, they sell Samsung devices. They want to keep their brand identity and I think it is a good thing.
First, Samsung introduced plenty of useful features, a lot of useless ones too. Some of the good ones ended up in vanilla Android, that's a win for everyone else.
Second, it helps keeping Google in check. Because Samsung is not vanilla Android, it doesn't depend as much on Google as the others, it helps creating a healthier relationship.
Of course, if you don't like the way Samsung treats Android, don't buy Samsung. In fact I don't recommend them anymore but I am still glad they are here.
I have an S7 and I quite like it. They've dialed back the TouchWiz silliness to the point that I had very little difficulty transitioning from stock Android. The keyboard is eminently usable; I have Swype installed but find myself not using it. There's some bloatware but it's easily ignored, and some of it I actually use. On the whole it doesn't bother me at all, in fact it's probably the best phone I've owned.
Breakfast served all day!
So you recommend against Samsung for a reason that would disqualify every other Android as well.
Thankyou for your thoughtful and insightful post. We are all better for it.