A few thoughts on the Samsung Unpacked Event
by Volker Weber
Often Samsung events are cringe-worthy. Not today. This was a smooth delivery with clear messages. Here are my thoughts:
- Galaxy Note 9 is in a class of its own. It's powerful, it's expensive and it's your only choice if you want a smartphone with a pen. You know when you want one, and it's a worthy follow-up to the Note 8. Aside from a faster processor, more storage and a larger battery, I see two upgrades worth their own thoughts.
- S-Pen gains Bluetooth Low Energy. As a powered device it needs to be charged and that happens inside the phone. You won't even notice. In case you ever run out of juice it charges in less than a minute. What is BT LE good for? The pen can act as a remote. App by app you can select what a single, a double or a long press does. For now, that is limited to Samsungs apps, but it will open up to other apps.
- The Desktop Experience DeX has been reworked into a simpler solution. You just need a USB-C to HDMI Adapter to connect a second large screen that is PC like but runs Android apps. Many companies have tried this before, Microsoft with Windows Phone or Samsung with Galaxy S docking stations, but who has a spare keyboard/mouse/screen sitting around? This works with any TV in your hotel room.
- Galaxy Watch is a minor upgrade from the S3 I liked so much. The biggest enhancement is LTE which keeps you connected without the phone. It has been a game changer for my 3rd gen Apple Watch, and it is going to be equally useful on Samsung's watch. And still, I think it is a minor upgrade. It is still tied to Tizen which lacks partner support and I do not expect Samsung to make a dent in the universe like the Apple Watch does.
- Samsung gets a home speaker, powered by Bixby. Well, Bixby. It's testimony that Samsung really wants to break free from Google, but I have serious doubts that they will ever be able to catch up. We don't know what it will cost, but given Samsung's past, it will sound reasonably well, be expensive, and fail to sell meaningful quantities. We will see how this goes.
- If you build a home speaker, you need music. Unlike Sonos, who plays with everyone, or Apple, who are building their own, Samsung picked a winner: Spotify. And a winner Spotify is. Samsung will promote the service on all their devices at a scale unbeknownst to Spotify so far. We are talking hundreds of millions of devices. Spotify has the most to gain from this partnership. They remain open to all platforms and still get a boost from Samsung. Smart move.
Great show, Samsung. If DJ Koh would take a step back and swallow his pride, we could enjoy it without first suffering through his delivery.
Comments
I watched the summary and found it painful all the way through. I enjoyed their apple bashing commercials much more! Maybe Bixby can marry Cortana and something good might come out (ok, that’s my snarky comment for tonight). Good analysis, though!
Markus Dierker, 2018-08-09
Can you use Google Pay with the Galaxy Watch?
Karl Heindel, 2018-08-10
