Beyond 10: A running history of Samsung

San Francisco - Samsung's sprawling empire is a driver of South Korea's economy

In the old days, 10th anniversaries were symbolised by tin or aluminium. In the modern age, it has been replaced by diamond jewellery.
A decade can also define what kind of success a company may achieve. For Samsung, both symbols are recognised: durable while shining through the competition.
The upcoming Galaxy S10 and S10+ - plus a budget-friendly S10e and, it is said, a super-sized S10 X - which will be finally unveiled here in San Francisco tomorrow, marks the 10th anniversary of the Galaxy S series. Technically, however, the first Galaxy device - the Samsung Galaxy - launched on June 29, 2009, didn't have the S attached to its name; that suffix was added a year later on the original Galaxy S.
But suffice to say, the Galaxy line's - well - galaxy of devices rivals only that of Nokia during its heydey. It spawned several other series, from suffixing it with other letters in the alphabet (A, C, E, J, M, R and Y) to actual names (Ace, Core, Grand, Mega, Mini, On, Pocket, Trend and a host of others) and its premium, most recognisable offshoot, the Note.
The success has been a feel good story for the South Korean tech giant, once mainly known in the not-so-distant past for its home appliances, particularly TVs. With 30,000 won in his hands - around $482 in today's money - its founder, Byung-Chull Lee, started the company on March 1, 1938, as a small trade export firm selling dried fish and vegetables.
Fast-forward to today: Samsung's sprawling empire is a driver of South Korea's economy. It even has its own city - Samsung Digital City - some 21km from Seoul.
Seemingly, not even that snag it hit with the ill-fated Note7 in 2016 dent its armour.
More importantly, it is a bellwether, something consumers look up to. Together with Apple - a rivalry that has defined a whole new era of technology we have been witnessing innovation, once unimaginable, coming into our hands.
It is said with great power comes great responsibility; Samsung is among the elite in the technology world that has that power to dictate the way forward.
Smartphone sales posted a full-year decline in 2018, dropping 5 per cent to 376 million units according to Strategy Analytics - the first time it has ever happened to its industry.
That has put into question the future of the market. But it may be just a part of the cycle.
"Some observers say that smartphone innovation has hit a bottleneck, as new devices bear more iterative upgrades instead of groundbreaking features. Others even predict that the smartphone era may be coming to an end soon," Hark-sang Kim, senior vice-president and head of the visual R&D team at Samsung Electronics' mobile communications business, said in a commentary.
Solution: leverage emerging technologies - and you know what they are.
Artificial intelligence and augmented reality have been in the game for quite a while, but there is one innovation that is hotly anticipated: 5G. The next-generation mobile standard promises blazing speeds - and that's what mobile companies are trying to take advantage of.
So, yes, we may be at the bottom of the cycle right now.
"With mobile technologies maturing rapidly, users will be able to do even more with their smartphones soon," Kim said.
"Instead of losing relevance, the next wave of technological innovation will make the smartphone more central to our lives than ever before. Whether it's leveraging increased connectivity or harnessing next-generation mobile intelligence, a larger display will be key to accessing future smartphone experiences." Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner, said in a recent release that 2019 will be big for the industry - although it may take some time to harness 5G's full potential.
"While 2019 will mark an important year for more R&D and testing/trials of varying 5G technologies, it is unlikely that 5G will be seen in mobile devices in significant volumes before 2020," she said, adding that Gartner expects 5G mobile phone sales to total 65 million units next year.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com