Samsung – The final nail

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Using Microsoft apps is the final nail in the ecosystem coffin.

• It looks very much like Samsung has discarded all of its in house software on the Samsung Galaxy S6 in favour of productivity apps from Microsoft and the ecosystem from Google.
• Removing all the usual pre-installed apps. should make the device appear mush quicker and much cleaner when it comes to performance.
• Following its deal with Google a year ago, Google’s ecosystem will be front and centre on the device but the surprise is that Microsoft’s apps will also be pre-loaded onto the device.
• As no one ever seemed to use its pre-installed apps., Samsung seems to have made the wise move to not install them on the device.
• Die-hards will still be able to download them but I doubt many will.
• Microsoft is a small exclusive for Samsung, as Microsoft’s Word, Excel and PowerPoint are currently only available for Android tablets with a screen size of 7 inches or more.
• This is a significant boost for Microsoft as preinstalled apps always get used far more than those that have to be downloaded.
• The fact that Apple’s inferior maps app. gained a significant amount of market share against Google Maps when Google was no longer preinstalled on the iPhone is testament to this fact.
• Microsoft’s move to make the reading and basic editing of Office documents free on other platforms is a significant boost to its appeal to the consumer.
• This is likely to come to the detriment of other offerings that are also free but do not have the widespread reach and acceptance that Office has.
• For Samsung, this is the final stage of its capitulation when it comes to the ecosystem.
• In January 2014 it ceded the consumer ecosystem to Google and now it looks very much as if it has ceded the enterprise ecosystem to Microsoft.
• Samsung badly needs the Galaxy S6 to be a hit but outside of a few gimmicks, there is still nothing I can see that will excite users.
• The inclusion of Microsoft should appeal to content creators and prosumers but the fact that the Google ecosystem is available from many different vendors will really limit Samsun’s ability to differentiate.
• Assuming Samsung can hold share steady and continue to streamline its cost base it could be able to hold profitability around the current 7% without the Galaxy S6 being a smash hit.
• With very little to encourage users to pay up for the device, this looks like a best case scenario.
• Hence, I think Samsung will remain in the doldrums this year and prefer the likes of Microsoft and Google as places to look in for investing in the ecosystem.