Analyst predicts Samsung will be forced out of the smartphone market in 5 years

There are quite a few signs that the smartphone industry is an increasingly difficult place to sell premium devices with premium price tags – and that’s even with smartphones being at their technological peak with every iteration. Naturally, a discussion about this phenomenon wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Samsung, who’s plight is the most dire considering its fall from grace in the premium sector. According to Creative Strategies analyst Ben Bajarin, the situation is such that Samsung will be forced out of the smartphone market in 5 years.

Bajarin’s basis for this prediction stems from the fact that Samsung is currently suffering from “The Innovator’s Dilemma“, which describes how initially successful companies try to pander to their customer’s current needs rather than innovate to anticipate future needs, eventually falling behind and never being able to close the gap. Another thing influencing this is the fact Samsung is charging far too much for their flagship devices when consumers are perfectly happy with “good enough” devices in the mid-range market.

“Android devices in the $200-$400 range are good enough for the masses leaving Samsung’s $600 devices and above stranded on an island.”

Bajarin also makes the interesting comment that Samsung knew this was coming, hence its investment in the Tizen operating system, but was stuck between a rock and a hard place given how much momentum they had selling Android devices. Obviously we’ll have to wait and see whether this truly does come to pass, but if you really wanted to, you could start to see the signs of Samsung’s mobile business unfolding. For the rest of Bajarin’s analysis, be sure to hit the source link at the bottom of this post.

What do you think about the theory that Samsung will be forced out of the smartphone market in 5 years? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: Techpinions via Phandroid

The post Analyst predicts Samsung will be forced out of the smartphone market in 5 years appeared first on AndroidSPIN.

Factory Reset Protection on Samsung devices can be bypassed in just a few minutes

In Android 5.0 Lollipop, Google introduced a security feature called Factory Reset Protection to help folks keep their data safe. It works like this: if FRP is turned on and your Android device is reset from the recovery menu, the Android device will require you to re-enter the primary Google account information that was last on the device. This means that if someone steals your phone and resets it from recovery, there’s no way for them to get in.

Well, with one big exception.

If you happen to own a Samsung device, you can bypass Factory Reset Protection by using an OTG drive and a single APK. In the video shown below, RootJunky was able to bypass FRP on his Samsung device in just under 10 minutes.

You see, there’s a feature on Samsung devices that will automatically launch a file manager when an OTG drive is plugged in, even when the phone is locked. So when the device asks you to enter in your Google account information, simply insert your OTG drive and install the APK (attached in the video’s description) on your device. The APK will pull up the Settings menu automatically, so you can scroll down and perform a factory data reset from the Settings menu. When your device boots up again, you won’t run into the same Factory Reset Protection wall you experienced the first time around.

See also: Lollipop’s Factory Reset Protection to make thieves’ life harder17

This can be used for both good and evil, but most likely it will be used for the latter. If you performed a factory reset from your recovery menu and can’t seem to remember your account information, just a quick install from the APK and you should be good to go. Alternatively, and much more likely, this is a tool that can be used if someone steals your Samsung device and doesn’t have your password.

Factory Reset Protection is in Android for a reason, and it’s a little unsettling to think that Samsung devices are vulnerable at the moment. We’ll be sure to let you know if Samsung issues a fix. But for now, let’s hope if you do happen to lose your phone, it doesn’t end up in the wrong tech-savvy person’s hands.

Low cost Samsung Galaxy On5 and On7 arrive in India

Following a silent launch in China the other week, Samsung has officially unveiled its Galaxy On5 and On7 smartphones in India today. The two are targeted at the budget segment of the market, but aren’t without a few features to try and help them stand out from the crowd.

The design language for the On series will be very familiar to anyone who has taken a look at Samsung’s Tizen-powered Z3 smartphone. Both phones will be manufactured in India, as part of the company’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.

The Galaxy On5 is a 5-inch smartphone that boasts a 720p display resolution. The phone is powered by a quad-core Exynos 3475 processor, 1.5GB of RAM and comes with 8GB of internal storage. Fortunately, there is a microSD card slot for more space. The handset also comes with a 2,600mAh battery, an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front facing camera, like Samsung’s other lower cost Galaxy A and E smartphones.

The Galaxy On7 is a larger 5.7-inch smartphone with the same 720p resolution. There are a few hardware differences compared with the On5 though. The handset features an upgraded 13 megapixel rear camera, a larger 3,000mAh battery and a Snapdragon 410 processing package.

These two new smartphones also are the first to make use of MixRadio, which gives users access to over 32 million tracks, including tracks in 12 Indian regional languages. The app features both online and offline play.

The smaller Galaxy On5 is the cheaper of the two handsets, with a price tag set at Rs. 8,990 (~$150). The Galaxy On7 will cost Rs. 10,990 (~$185). Both phones come in black or white color options and will be available exclusively though FlipKart starting from midnight tomorrow.

Samsung CEO: “If we resist changes, then we won’t survive”

In the past year or so, the “fate” of Samsung seems to be a recurring talking point around the internet. Due in large part to the company’s lackluster profit performance in 2014, the Korean conglomerate pulled things together and released a radically redesigned Galaxy S6 and sibling S6 Edge to widespread acclaim. The most recent quarter has been quite successful, however there are underlying issues involving mobiles, namely how much longer they can produce profits.

Today, Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun indicated the company needs some radical revision due to slow growth in smartphone, television, and other key business units. Specifically, he said that:

 “Smartphones, TV’s and other key IT products are entering a slow growth phase and our rivals are changing value chains by introducing new technology and business models.”

Mr. Oh-hyun then added that:

“In order to overcome the current crisis, we need an extraordinary transition. If we resist changes, then we won’t survive…We must become a leader in the new era with a new start…We must start anew everything from product development to operations and organizational culture…Samsung has turned a crisis into a business opportunity. We need to write a new corporate history with passion and challenge.”

In addition to his position as Vice Chairman, Kwon Oh-hyun is also one Samsung’s three co-CEOs. The company is expected to announce changes to its corporate management in December.

Samsung’s Situation

Samsung’s “situation” has been discussed at length over the course of the past year, however today’s call to arms represents a very clear indication the company itself is critically aware of the challenges the future poses for it. For years it was the de facto winner in the Android device marketplace, due in large part to the top-tech and marketing dominance it offered consumers.

Recently however, Chinese OEMs have posed a major threat to the “legacy” players thanks to their razor-thin profit margins and penchant for selling their products online-only. Even with Samsung’s plans to release a bendable smart device in 2016, there is only so much that can be done amid fierce competition.

Indeed Samsung need only look to Sony to see the problems associated with market changes and the fiscal maladies that can result from unpreparedness. Once the crown jewel in the global consumer IT market, Sony has since sold off its once-proud VAIO line, spun off its TV, audio, and video businesses, and is now in the process of doing the same with its imaging sensor business. The company was able to make a profit in this past quarter, though in no small part thanks to the Playstation brand; its Xperia line continues to fail to thrive.

Given that Samsung’s 46th anniversary was November 1st, the company has certainly been around long enough to see, react to, and benefit from changes to its business models. The question here ultimately becomes just what changes are needed and how the conglomerate will go about implementing them. Cutting jobs or budgets is one thing, but if it ultimately affects the company’s core ability to remain competitive then the problem may become far more hard hitting.