If android progresses well, Samsung can beat Apple. (Photo : REUTERS/LEE JAE-WON)
Failing to carry on its 2014's stellar performance, tech giant Samsung Electronics held roughly 15 percent of smartphone industry's total operating income for the first quarter of 2015.
The culprit is said to be the emerging of low-priced android phones such as China's Huawei and Cherry Mobile and Philippine's MyPhone, Silicon Republic reported.
Ironically, Samsung's rival iPhone still rose in terms of profit. Critics pointed out that the American high-end mobile brand had only 20 percent market share but was able to profit by selling phones at higher prices and therefore achieving higher margins.
The high-end label was able to distribute its products at higher costs because iPhone was able to distinguish itself from other phone brands therefore maintaining its prestigious image.
Apart from its thin, sleek design, widescreen, and high resolution, the iOS is iPhone's biggest asset and most notable feature. By having developed its own operating system, Apple can advance with a wide array of innovations such as apps, security features, and others.
Samsung sticks with its current OS for some practical reasons. Noting economies-of-scale, it is cheaper to collaborate with Google than to develop a system from scratch. However, Samsung's use of Google's Android OS made it more similar to other cheaper phones.
Meanwhile, Google is not sitting down. It Android updates are aggressively fast and competitive. For instance, Google Open Mic, which allows users to voice command messaging, weather update, search, Spotify, and other apps has expanded to cover WeChat, Viber, and other third party communication. This is a move to combat iPhone's Siri. Google cloud is also very much at par with iCloud.
Apart from the use of Android OS, Samsung get ahead with its cameras with lower apertures that can capture vivid images night and day. To complement its camera, Samsung even developed an advanced photo studio. The brand claims that anyone can craft high-quality photos from Samsung phones.
Samsung has become a benchmark for smartphones as other brands seemed to be working on copying the distinct Korean brand. However, as the smaller brands become more aggressive in advancing, Samsung is pressured to keep itself on top.
