“Our job as a company is to bring value to customers by creating innovative technologies, and foldable smartphones are born exactly for this”. Brian Choi, vice president and global head of sales and marketing for the mobile division of Samsung Electronics, speaks slowly, weighing every word. For over three decades he has worked in the same company, where he held roles in various departments including R&D and Global Brand Marketing. We met him in London, on the occasion of the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2022, the event where the Korean giant launched the latest version of its Galaxy Z Flip4 and Galaxy Z Fold4 folding smartphones.
It is already the fourth generation for devices that did not exist until recently, with which Samsung has created a market from scratch, and which are now experiencing “explosive growth”, as Choi recalls. And it is only the beginning: “According to our estimates – explains the top manager Samsung – in the second half of this year we will ship about 10 million units, and in the next year we will still have a growth of 15%”. An advance that seems unstoppable for a newly born type of product, moreover in a sector that now seemed saturated. So the question is a must:
Will foldables replace traditional smartphones?
“We don’t believe it. The two types of smartphones will continue to coexist and develop in their respective market categories. The important thing is to give the consumer the opportunity to choose ».
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And what do users ask for?
«According to our research, the Galaxy Z Flip is more popular with women, who are looking for personalization and colors and who love the Flex functionality, with which they can use the camera in very creative ways. the Fold, on the other hand, is more of interest to men, who are interested in productivity and are looking for a larger screen. At the moment, the sales ratio is 7 Z Flip for every 3 Z Fold, but I believe that in the future we will stabilize at 6 to 4, because there will be more people who want a bigger screen; because multitasking continues to improve by increasing productivity, and because the evolution of technology will allow us to make these devices ever lighter ».
What means and investments in R&D did the creation of folding smartphones require?
«The development of our first foldable started about 8 years before the launch of the first model. It took huge investments, and we have registered over 1000 patents. With this fourth generation of devices, we believe we have developed very complete products: the hardware has evolved and usability has greatly improved, also thanks to the collaboration with partners such as Microsoft, Google, Facebook and various other companies. We have worked on integration with other products and ecosystems, and all this has greatly improved the user experience “
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What will be the next step in the evolution of foldables? Will we ever see them fold into three or more parts?
“If I think about future versions of Flip and Fold, I can say that the experience with cameras, applications and connectivity will continue to evolve. Last year 10 million foldables were shipped, and now estimates say 30 million will be shipped by 2025. We believe we can anticipate this result, because there are many users who have not yet experienced a folding, and this means that the market will continue to grow at least until 2030. More generally, it may also be that the foldables of the future will fold not only in twos but also in threes, or in fours, and even if I can’t say what we are working on, there is room for imagination. For example, we could also have foldable tablets and foldable PCs, because for every portable device it makes sense to ask ourselves if it is worth making it foldable and what kind of experience it would create “
Samsung claims to “listen to the users” to improve products. How do you collect their feedback?
«The dialogue with our customers is open and we try to make our own and incorporate as many requests as possible into the products. There are several ways to collect feedback: first of all market research and focus groups, then obviously the contact through the customer service after the purchase of a product, which feeds a database of information from which we select indications that are reflected on our product. planning. And then, again, there are our employees, who participate in the prototype tests by sharing their feedback, helping us to understand what improvements we can make ».
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In the age of social networks and global society, are there still big differences in the way a product is launched in different national markets?
“We have a global strategy for marketing, sales and products, which I am responsible for, but under this umbrella there are 52 sales units that localize the strategies. The same thing happens for social networks, which have grown enormously and where we have multiplied our efforts to spread our messages, taking care of daily and real-time communication thanks to which we can relate to our current and future customers, as well as obtain feedback. It should be noted that the relevance of social media, and with it our investment strategies, changes from country to country: in Great Britain, for example, Instagram weighs more, while in France Snapchat is more relevant, and in Italy to record the greatest growth I’m TikTok and LinkedIn ».
The Galaxy Z Flip4 is also available in the customizable Bespoke version. Is this an approach that will expand to other products as well?
«The Bespoke concept was born with our refrigerators and air conditioners: usually the newlyweds who buy new appliances, who love to personalize their home, want products that reflect their tastes. Then we wondered where else we could put the same approach into practice, and the Galaxy Z Flip turned out to be the best candidate. If the operation is successful, there is the possibility that the Bespoke concept will also be applied to other products ”
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What do you think is the future of wearables?
“I see two different lines of development for this category: the first concerns the ability to improve health and fitness, so we will work further to increase the richness and accuracy of the information they are able to collect and provide, for example by registering with greater accuracy in blood pressure or blood sugar. The other line of development concerns the remote control function for a plethora of other products, including smartphones, tablets, PCs, home appliances, IOT devices. We, in particular, with the Galaxy Watch 4 we have introduced the possibility of connecting to Tesla cars, and now with the Watch 5 we have expanded the control functions of the smart home to improve the quality of sleep ».
How important is the influence of science fiction on creativity for new technological products?
“It’s a difficult question, but science fiction has certainly had an impact on companies developing innovative technologies. Sometimes our engineers are the ones who collect suggestions from creatives and visionaries, and sometimes they are the ones who give them. Both worlds contribute to defining the future in which we will live ».
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