• Samsung to Mirror Apple's Move Offering a Metal and Plastic Version of the Galaxy

    by
    Akshay Masand
    Published on 2014-01-14 04:33 PM
    23 Comments Comments


    The next flagship smartphone from Samsung will reportedly be offered in two versions, a metal-clad premium edition and a cheaper model sporting a plastic case. Sound familiar? It probably does as Apple’s iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C offerings were introduced and sold in a similar fashion.

    The news comes just one week after Samsung mobile executive Lee Young Hee said that the company would be going “back to the basics” when it comes to industrial design of their device in an effort to excited customers that Samsung believes were disappointed with the similarities between the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4. The information trickled down from the normally reliable Samsung watchers, SamMobile.

    If the information turns out to be true, the move would mirror Apple’s decision to drop its longstanding practice of discounting the previous year’s model in favor of a new, bifurcated lineup. With the introduction of the iPhone 5S, Apple discontinued the iPhone 5 in favor of an all-new iPhone 5C featuring a polycarbonate shell in a variety of colors.
    Samsung seems to also be considering adding biometric authentication capabilities to the handset in order to help counter Apple’s popular TouchID feature. Lee mentioned that “many people are fanatical about iris recognition technology” and that Samsung was “studying the possibility” of including it in the Galaxy S5.

    As far as the pricing goes, the premium version is expected to retail for €800 ($1,093) while the plastic-backed variant should fetch €650 ($889) when the devices are unveiled this spring, In comparison, Apple’s iPhone 5S starts at €699 ($955) for a model with 16 gigabytes of memory and the iPhone 5c comes in at €599 ($819) for the same configuration.

    We’ll have to see what move Samsung makes and how it compares to Apple’s offerings.

    Source: SamMobile
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Samsung to Mirror Apple's Move Offering a Metal and Plastic Version of the Galaxy started by Akshay Masand View original post
    1. Categories:
    2. iPhone,
    3. Apple
    Comments 23 Comments
    1. bigboyz's Avatar
      bigboyz - 2014-01-14, 04:35 PM
      Follow the leader he's on the hunt now...reminds me of the old Honda commercials :]
    1. ukblake's Avatar
      ukblake - 2014-01-14, 04:41 PM
      Samsung copying Apple? Really? That's never happened before.
    1. 0157h7's Avatar
      0157h7 - 2014-01-14, 05:02 PM
      I think this is less about copying Apple and more about fending off any competition from other Android manufacturers. The HTC One received a lot of critical praise and sold very well (even though not as well as the S4.) The Galaxy line has flourished against the iPhone which has always had better materials. When looking at potential competitors and the fact that many are using materials other than plastic, Samsung has to step up it's game. They know they can't kill Apple, but they do need to make sure they maintain dominance of the Android ecosystem.
    1. Charblee's Avatar
      Charblee - 2014-01-14, 05:06 PM
      The pricing seems off... The 16GB iPhone 5S is $649.. Not $955...
    1. Feanor64's Avatar
      Feanor64 - 2014-01-14, 05:20 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Charblee View Post
      The pricing seems off... The 16GB iPhone 5S is $649.. Not $955...
      Yeah I don't know where this guy is shopping at lol
    1. riassan's Avatar
      riassan - 2014-01-14, 05:31 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Charblee View Post
      The pricing seems off... The 16GB iPhone 5S is $649.. Not $955...
      Quote Originally Posted by Feanor64 View Post
      Yeah I don't know where this guy is shopping at lol
      Its Euros conversion.

      Still though Samsung will lead on android end, whether its plastic or not. they will continue to recycle components from their flagship into their phablet and attempt to build new driver code for components for the same hardware in each and attempt to offer up new features, but still produce crappy quality if not depleting the hardware even more by some of the changes made in the coding that will then be backported by developers(root users as well) to get it back to sub par usage. just my 2 cents....
    1. andreix's Avatar
      andreix - 2014-01-14, 05:40 PM
      Is that infringment?
    1. Carvensno's Avatar
      Carvensno - 2014-01-14, 05:58 PM
      I like how they used the term mirroring instead of "copy" lol. S4 was nothing more than a camera and video upgrade mainly, plus stretch out the screen in the same S3 frame. Then of course the new useless software features. Then even for the new stuff being released today, can't believe there still running the same old snapdragon CPU lol. Come on that's like 2 yrs old now!
    1. luvmytj's Avatar
      luvmytj - 2014-01-14, 06:44 PM

    1. Albut's Avatar
      Albut - 2014-01-14, 09:12 PM
      Thank god for Samsung. Anything they make will be much better VFM than any Iphone. The problem with Apple is that unless you jailbreak a device then you have no real control over it!!
    1. cpotoso's Avatar
      cpotoso - 2014-01-14, 09:34 PM
      Gosh, Samsung is looking more and more pathetic.
    1. Carvensno's Avatar
      Carvensno - 2014-01-14, 10:13 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Albut View Post
      Thank god for Samsung. Anything they make will be much better VFM than any Iphone. The problem with Apple is that unless you jailbreak a device then you have no real control over it!!
      Correct if I'm wrong? But you have to still root a Android phone don't you to have REAL control over it? LOL
    1. Feanor64's Avatar
      Feanor64 - 2014-01-14, 10:31 PM
      I mean if they can get the build quality up I wouldn't mind trying one out.
    1. LittleGod's Avatar
      LittleGod - 2014-01-14, 11:00 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by cpotoso View Post
      Gosh, Samsung is looking more and more pathetic.
      Why are they looking pathetic. I'm sure Samsung share holders would disagree.
    1. King_O_Hill's Avatar
      King_O_Hill - 2014-01-14, 11:46 PM
      Yeah, that's why Samsung stock dropped 5% to start the new year!
    1. Phillster's Avatar
      Phillster - 2014-01-15, 01:17 AM
      Remember the days when everyone bashed Samsung for plastic casing then iPhone C was released, now Samsung wants to release a metal casing and its considered copying. Makes no sense to me
    1. LittleGod's Avatar
      LittleGod - 2014-01-15, 01:54 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by King_O_Hill View Post
      Yeah, that's why Samsung stock dropped 5% to start the new year!

      Competition is healthy, we all get better products. I use both iOS and Android and love all my devices for what they can DO.
    1. devteamtools's Avatar
      devteamtools - 2014-01-15, 04:03 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by Phillster View Post
      Remember the days when everyone bashed Samsung for plastic casing then iPhone C was released, now Samsung wants to release a metal casing and its considered copying. Makes no sense to me
      Well I mean, the iPhone 3G and 3GS both had plastic casing .-. I do agree though, doesn't quite make sense.
    1. kalpesh78's Avatar
      kalpesh78 - 2014-01-15, 08:10 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by devteamtools View Post
      Well I mean, the iPhone 3G and 3GS both had plastic casing .-. I do agree though, doesn't quite make sense.
      I never liked Apple going back to plastic anyways.
    1. linkonzakir's Avatar
      linkonzakir - 2014-01-15, 08:12 AM
      yes this is nice information but any one can tell me when the price may be reduce. I am interested on it thanks.
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