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Samsung chief has reportedly been quite angry at the company’s mobile division Samsung MX. Specifically speaking, Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee directly intervened in the division. He has caused a major reshuffle within the profit-making division.
Why is the Samsung chief angry with the highly lucrative business division?
Samsung operates multiple businesses. It is one of the largest South Korean companies. Samsung Mobile is one of the most profitable divisions of the company.
Despite thriving with AI smartphone innovations, it is now on edge, reportedly because of some design decisions. The matter became so serious, that the parent company’s chief became angry with Samsung MX.
Samsung's Chairman Cracks Down on MX Division Over Apple Copycat Claims
Samsung's chairman, JY, known for his calm demeanor, recently gave a stern directive to the MX Division to reassess its management. This came after escalating issues with design and quality, causing a chilly… pic.twitter.com/OdVRnNfvx0
— INIYSA (@lafaiel) August 2, 2024
According to an insider’s statement, tensions are rising within the Samsung Electronics MX Division. It receives the most performance-based pay among the Device Experience (DX) divisions. Speaking anonymously, the employee said:
“The chairman himself stepped in after the controversy over Apple’s design “inspiration” and quality issues surrounding the Buds 3 series and Galaxy Watch 7 released last month. The internal atmosphere is currently very bad.”
The employee was referring to the recently launched Galaxy Buds 3 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Samsung’s chief is angry because, at the media briefing held at Samsung Store Hongdae in South Korea, these products were overwhelmingly compared to the Apple AirPods and Apple Watch.
Galaxy Buds 3 and other accessories facing production and quality issues too?
When the Galaxy Buds 3 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra were presented, several reporters instantly remarked they closely resembled Apple’s products. The previous two generations of Galaxy Buds had a distinct “kidney bean” appearance.
The latest generation of Galaxy Buds have stems. Needless to say, these make the Galaxy Buds 3 similar to AirPods and several other wireless earbuds in the market.
…and the "I'm not airpods" Galaxy buds 3.
There's one nice attention to detail however – at the bottom of the stems, left bud is color coded blue, right bud orange. pic.twitter.com/rv2vbY8vbc— Aquis_GN 📱🤖 Android/Smartphone Vtuber (@Aquis_GN) July 11, 2024
Some reports claim a reporter even remarked, “The appearance, case, and even the fit are too similar to Apple.” What’s concerning is that even the media control method is similar to the AirPods Pro series.
Specifically speaking, in both products, users can play or pause music by pressing the pillar, not the earbud. Even the method to change the volume is now identical.
The Galaxy Buds 3 look just like AirPods.
Why? At a distance, they are indistinguishable from AirPods. Samsung's previous designs were unique and efficient, so why change? pic.twitter.com/5bTWl6rxpc
— Tom's KI Ecke (@KI_HAL_2023) July 30, 2024
Samsung’s chief usually has a calm demeanor. However, he was reportedly angry as the Galaxy Watch 7 Ultra also resembles the Apple Watch Ultra.
Some reports also claimed Samsung may have welcomed problems in production and quality by abandoning the older designs. However, unless the earbuds are officially recalled, these may be termed as isolated cases. Perhaps the biggest difference that puts the Galaxy Buds 3 ahead of the Apple AirPods is their ease of repairability.