The Samsung Galaxy Brand is Starting to Eclipse the Android Brand; is Google in Trouble?

| February 4, 2013 | 12 Replies

    R2_sept12th_WP

    Our very own Randy Arrowood predicted Samsung’s coming downfall not too long ago, in his Samsung’s Rise Leading to Their Downfall series (links included below).

    It’s a highly recommended series for anyone interested in exploring the future implications of Samsung’s total domination of the mobile market. Arrowood seems to think that Samsung’s primary intentions to dominate the android market, will in turn bring about its downfall. The tricky part is deciphering when this collapse will occur. There are lots of events going on behind the scenes, specifically the Apple and Samsung lawsuits currently underway.

    More recently, a strategy consultant, for the Enders Analysis firm, used market data to predict that Samsung’s success is soon going to cloud the entire Android brand. Evan collected the data, using Google Trends, which shows that the Samsung Galaxy brand is starting to overshadow the Android brand in terms of consumer awareness.

    Many of you Samsung fans are probably wondering why this is a problem. Android is an open source platform, and as such Google has long since promised that no manufacturer would dominate the ecosystem more than another.

    The Android platform is, first and foremost, designed to provide consumers with “freedom” when it comes to the mobile world, and that includes freedom to choose between different mobile devices. A totally dominant brand, namely Samsung, will affect that global freedom, smothering other brands in its continual success.

    Sure, we could all claim that Samsung deserves to be in the spotlight and that those ‘other brands’ just don’t offer what Samsung does, but that’s not the point.

    Benedict Evans used a Google Trends chart to compare awareness between the Android platform and the Samsung Galaxy brand. By looking at the graph, you can see that awareness for the Galaxy line has been building significantly over time until it surpassed the Android brand last December.

    Samsung Galaxy and Android Google Trends

    As you can see, both ‘Samsung’ and ‘Galaxy’ have passed Android. Interestingly enough, the terms ‘Samsung Galaxy’ when paired together are still below Android in terms of consumer awareness. It is worth noting that the combination is steadily rising, however.

    For reference, Google Trends is Google’s premiere analytics platform which aggregates data based on current search trends. It’s not entirely accurate, but it does provide an appropriate example of what is currently popular, at least during the polled time.

    It’s likely that Google has something up its sleeve to thwart Samsung’s monumental success. I mean, it has to, right? Especially considering they’ve always preferred that no one manufacturer dominate the mobile operating system.

    The answer is probably the long rumored X Phone, which Google is supposedly creating in collaboration with Motorola. Has the damage been done though? Is it too late for Google to regain control of its own mobile ecosystem?

    Booming sales of the Nexus 7, Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 certainly prove that Google has the potential to regain control. That doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen, though.

    By no means is this a problem for Samsung, at least not yet anyways. That is unless, of course, Google starts gunning for the Android giant. Oh no, Google should be the one to worry.

    The ‘Galaxy’ line is truly starting to eclipse the ‘Android’ brand in terms of consumer awareness.

    Source: Benedict Evans
    Via: BGR

      Category: Android News, Special Features

      About the Author ()

      Briley is a modern tech/gaming journalist, and electronic gadget enthusiast. Currently, he utilizes his exemplary writing skills to save the world, one post at a time. All you need to know is that he's a self-proclaimed wordsmith climbing his way to the top, he <3's Android (naturally), and he's a slayer of Ice Cream Drumsticks and noobs.Briley writes for several online publications including Android Headlines, The Tech Labs and more. Recently he served as a content writer for the game Tales of Illyria, and he also designed the web portal for the game.

      • Pingback: AllPhoneNews The Samsung Galaxy Brand is Starting to Eclipse the Android Brand; is Google in Trouble? | AllPhoneNews

      • http://twitter.com/Zeratoda1 Joaquin Melendez

        The part 3 link leads to the part 2 article not part 3. Or was it implying that part Three is the Destruction of the interwebs? It’s either that or its a troll, either way well played AH well played

        • http://androidheadlines.com/ Tom Dawson

          Hi Joaaquin, thanks for noticing that, we’re sorry the slip-up happened and now it links to Part 3 as it should. We try our very best to troll here. Trolling is bad.

          Thanks!

        • Briley Kenney

          Thanks Joaquin. No trolling intended (or was it)! :p

      • boing boing

        Maybe if the nexus line was the top of the line specs this wouldn’t be happening… But of course its still last years parts they bring out and call a nexus… Nexus means best of not crap …

        • CitrusRain

          So what does come out with top of the line parts?

      • Richard Yarrell

        Oh gosh here we go again with the destruction of Samsung stuff it’s getting pretty boring to have to always here this propaganda on a weekly basis here. Bottom line ”GOOGLE HAS NO CONTROL OVER WHAT PEOPLE NEED OR WANT” from a technology standpoint and they ”NEVER WILL CONTROL ANY ASPECT” of that area period. Google says NO ONE MANUFACTURER will dominate the platform…That’s entirely stupid it’s already happening and NEVER WILL CHANGE. Google has plenty of other things it needs to focus on from a platform standpoint than to focus on Samsung. It’s the consumers who will control what manufacturer is TOP DOG when it comes to smartphone purchase. Google needs to FALL BACK and remember it’s place in this entire circumstance. Samsung earned it’s top spot it’s well deserved and Google needs to focus on it’s crappy Nexus line with it’s sad boring and bland products. The Nexus line reminds me of a useless iphone just a little bit better than that. I said it before and will always say it SAMSUNG IS ANDROID plain and simple and no crappy Motorola X phone is going to dethrone Samsung cause everyone knows Motorola is soft and useless.

        • squiddy20

          1. It’s spelled “hear”, not “here”. There is a difference. Look it up and educate yourself for once.
          2. In case you missed it, Android Headlines stated from the beginning that it’s “Samsung’s rise leads to it’s downfall” piece would be a 3 part article. That’s your own fault for feeling the “need” to defend your beloved Samsung, which is always “BOSS”, “pimp/bitch slapping” the competition, or just generally incapable of being wrong. Stupid fanboy.
          3. “Google needs to FALL BACK and remember it’s place in this entire circumstance.” Google is the holder of the entire OS. Without the OS, any of your “pimp slapping” Note 2′s, S3′s S2′s, etc cease to function. Without Google, Samsung more than likely wouldn’t be anywhere near where it is today in the smartphone market. Try claiming otherwise. I dare you.
          4. “Google has plenty of other things it needs to focus on from a platform standpoint” Apparently you don’t get the concept of a business with it’s own departments. You know one department to work on Android OS, one to work on Google Apps on Android, one to work on the web versions of Google Apps, etc. And then even smaller sections within each of those departments. To think that Google “needs” to focus on other things (which it already does: Google Glass, anyone?) when it’s such a large company is just ignorant and dumb.
          5. “Google says NO ONE MANUFACTURER will dominate the platform…” Google never said that, dumbass. What Google said is they wouldn’t work too closely with any one manufacturer which would make it seem like they were playing favorites. Market share and all the other BS you spewed out of the ignorant mouth have nothing to do with what Google said. Try getting your facts right.

          • Richard Yarrell

            Oh brother Mr.Squiddy20 talking from the grave nobody can take you to seriously my friend. This is a conversation with grown men real people who have faces not grown men hiding behind fictitious names you can’t even be man enough to show who you are in real lufe. You have no Google Plus page, no facebook page no twitter page no way of communication properly. Grown men don’t hide and until you can show who you really are you will never ever be anything more that what you have been for years an Internet troll. Grow Up squiddy20.what grown man calls himself squiddy20????

        • Briley Kenney

          Thank you for your comment.

          I’m quite positive there’s nothing in this article that hints at a “destruction” of Samsung. Unless you consider the related links, which I personally did not write. They’re only used as a reference, or a guide if you will.

          Believe it or not, someday Samsung will no longer be at the top of the food chain. I don’t claim to know when it will happen, but it’s inevitable. Companies rise and fall in terms of success every day. Someone will come along with a better experience than Samsung, take the lead, and force them to reinvent themselves yet again. Is it going to happen tomorrow? No.

          Do I have anything against Samsung? Absolutely not. In fact, my next phone is likely going to be the Galaxy Note II or S4, unless something goes terribly wrong in the meantime.

          I think you should also take another look at the article. Particularly this part:

          “Booming sales of the Nexus 7, Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 certainly prove that Google has the potential to regain control. That doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen, though.

          By no means is this a problem for Samsung, at least not yet anyways. That is unless, of course, Google starts gunning for the Android giant. Oh no, Google should be the one to worry.”

          Clearly, I said Google has need to worry. Not Samsung.

          At this time, we don’t know much about the “X Phone” either, so it’s hard to speculate about just what kind of impact it will have on the mobile market.

      • m nomail

        Google is sitting on tons of data it collects from android devices from various apps. That’s where the money is. Nobody made money in hardware for long time.

      • http://twitter.com/nza1 Steve

        I’ll be sticking with the open Android mainstream. Any vendor that wants to drag their market off into a corner and mug it for it for all its worth won’t be a vendor I buy anything from. This is true for phones, computers, content of any kind. I’m done with wouldb-be monopolists. Twenty-fice years of Microsoft stifling innovation on the desktop was more than enough for me to learn my lesson: Stay Open. Stay free.

      «
      »