Samsung launched two new Galaxy A series phones in China today, the Galaxy A6s and the Galaxy A9s, via SamMobile. The Galaxy A9s is just a renamed Galaxy A9 for the Chinese market, so it’s still the same mid-range phone with a whopping four cameras on the back. What’s more interesting is the Galaxy A6s, which is Samsung’s first ODM phone, or one produced by another company. According to The Korea Herald, Samsung had been in talks to outsource production of its mid- to low-end Galaxy phones to Chinese original design manufacturing company Wingtech, which produces Xiaomi phones.
What ODMs do is they design and manufacture a device and then a well known brand comes in and slaps their software and logo on it. Which means you could avoid a brand thinking they suck tits and end up buying into another made by the same damn ODM.
I spent so much energy and care swerving and ducking to avoid Chinese phones, but it turns out am an idiot, I wasted my care, and all phones are the same (anyways).
It must be tough to compete on the mid-range market when even companies like Samsung decide R&D on mid-range phones is a waste of money --let someone else do it.
You can’t avoid Chinese products, most of the electronic equipment used around the world is originally manufactured in either Taiwan or China. Microprocessors, flash and dram memory, memory cards, even the most basic electronic components such as capacitors and resistors come from either of the two countries.
True. But mostly the research and development is done by some other company. The Chinese only come in to implement some else’s design and specifications. With an ODM it’s the other way round.
Yeah, most design comes from America, Europe, South Korea or Japan. But the Chinese are catching up. They are now designing their own microprocessors and super computers.
Such products are often restricted to the country of manufacture and are usually meant to complete with top local brands. The quality and price match that of the local brands but may not be at par with the parent company’s standards elsewhere. A similar trend can be seen in autos and motorcycles. You will find Honda and Suzuki motorbikes made for the Indian market at Indian prices and quality. But these products are restricted to the local market lest they dilute the reputation of the brand in the international markets.
Actually even America takes their products from China, though with strict quality assurance measures, you remember the servers with some spying chip embedded on it recently?