TOKYO: Launched in August 2014, Samsung’s Galaxy Alpha was an interesting play by Samsung. Rather than specifications, the emphasis on the Alpha was placed on style and form rather than function and capability. With reports coming in that the Alpha’s production run is coming to an end, the handset has given Samsung a signpost to success in 2015.
The primary lesson from the Galaxy Alpha is that specifications go hand-in-hand with cost. There should be a direct relationship between what consumers will pay for a handset, and the level of hardware they will have. Paying Galaxy S5 prices and receiving Galaxy S5 Mini specifications does not seem to have gone down well with the public.
The trade that Samsung offered purchasers was a mid-range handset in terms of power that looked like a King among Princes. The brushed steel construction, the metal chassis, the vibrant AMOLED screen, and the thin 6.7 mm body, all screamed “look at me, I’m fashionable!”
That wasn’t enough, and the reports say that the Galaxy Alpha production line will be wound down with the existing inventory of materials lasting until the middle of February.
Irrespective of when the last Alpha rolls off the production line, the handset should not be seen as a misfire from Samsung but a stepping stone towards a successful strategic plan for 2015. The South Korean company tried something new, and gathered data from a new product line. Rather than continuing to iterate an existing design, the Alpha was unique and strong because it had very little lineage to previous handsets and had a clear focus on its deliverables.
That these deliverables were pushed aside by the market means that Samsung’s biggest gamble in 2015 has a bit more information to back it. The upcoming launch of the next flagship Galaxy can rightly be described as a make or break device for Samsung. If it can capture the mood and momentum of the mobile market, then Samsung’s revenues, profits, and market share can return.
