Samsung Will Soon Unveil a Phone With “New Materials”

Samsung had a terrible 2nd quarter. Last night, through their earnings release, they reported a 25% drop in annual operating profit and had to admit that the rest of 2014 was going to “remain a challenge.” Thanks to an overestimation of smartphone demand, along with growing competition, Samsung said that “Prospects for growth remain unclear as competition over global market share intensifies in the mobile industry.” Ouch.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Samsung will try to slow some of this slide by introducing two new phones over the coming months. One is expected to be a larger device that falls in the Galaxy Note category, likely the Galaxy Note 4. The other, well, will be made of “new materials.” 

What does that mean? It could mean a couple of things. We could see a phone made of more premium materials, like metals, instead of the “cheap” plastics that Samsung has stuck with over the years. It could also mean flexible or curved displays that aren’t shaped like tacos. Metal is probably the best guess, though, which we have already reportedly seen used in a device currently named Galaxy Alpha. Unfortunately, that device is now thought to be a mid-range offering rather than the ultra-premium phone we all want from the Korean manufacturer.

The question to ask is – will “new materials” help stop the slide that Samsung is currently seeing? Outside of their poor earnings, the IDC reported that Samsung has lost 7% of its market share in a year. Metal or no metal, the numbers aren’t looking good for Sammy at the moment.

Via:  Wall Street Journal