Samsung have produced a great phone in the Galaxy S4 but there are reasons for saying the Apple iPhone is still the better product. Is that clutching at straws?
Possibly, but the research it is based onsuggests something else – that Samsung are making elementary mistakes in their innovation strategy. That’s a big story for the world’s leading phone maker, if it rings true.
Where might the Samsung deficit and the Apple advantage lie?
Samsung have invested heavily in developments like display and processors but according to html5 specialists, Sencha, they have yet to understand the online experience. Michael Mullany, CEO ofSencha, describes the S4 browsing experience as “substantially inferior to the iPhone’s.”
Mullany has published his company’s review here.
The main contention is two fold – because html 5 allows browsers to become application platforms, mobile html5 experiences are increasingly determined by how well a browser deals with html5 and it becomes essential to the business model. A good experience will lead to more app sales as well as provide the user with what they crave.
Sencha contend that the iPhone, historically, has held a strong lead over Android in html5:
Sencha’s tests though are a little ambiguous (see some of the comments to Mullany’s IDG post).
The topline results suggests the S4, not the iPhone, has the better browser. But that seems to be mostly in terms of features supplied. When it comes down to working with those features, the iPhone continues to rule.
Conclusion: “Samsung doesn’t have the software expertise to create world class html5 experiences.”
He also points out that the Chrome browser is delivered on S4 phones. It is not the default browser but it could with relative ease, be configured to be the default. In a very short space of time, Samsung could course-correct.
What’s stopping it is its own perverse belief that it does software innovation as well as it does hardware. Not yet.
Another way to read Sencha’s research is that they are getting close and the real divide is now down to sensible decision making. I’ve written about that problem elsewhere – companies with large innovation programs need ways to QA their strategic options planning and to be sure their decisions are on the money.
Samsung has a deficit right there – in the decisions it makes about what to launch and at what stage of development.
Data source: Forbes (By Haydn Shaughnessy)
Possibly, but the research it is based onsuggests something else – that Samsung are making elementary mistakes in their innovation strategy. That’s a big story for the world’s leading phone maker, if it rings true.
Where might the Samsung deficit and the Apple advantage lie?
Samsung have invested heavily in developments like display and processors but according to html5 specialists, Sencha, they have yet to understand the online experience. Michael Mullany, CEO ofSencha, describes the S4 browsing experience as “substantially inferior to the iPhone’s.”
Mullany has published his company’s review here.
The main contention is two fold – because html 5 allows browsers to become application platforms, mobile html5 experiences are increasingly determined by how well a browser deals with html5 and it becomes essential to the business model. A good experience will lead to more app sales as well as provide the user with what they crave.
Sencha contend that the iPhone, historically, has held a strong lead over Android in html5:
“….while Android has steadily progressed, it has always been the perennial also-ran vs. iOS in mobile HTML5. From the original iPhone through the iPhone 5, mobile Safari has led the market with the highest performance, best rendering, advanced features and general quality.”Android has begun to catch up. Sencha tested the Samsung implementation of the browser in the S4 against the browser experience in iOS 6.1.3. on the iPhone 5, (and by the way the BlackBerry Z10 seems to outclass both Android and iOS).
Sencha’s tests though are a little ambiguous (see some of the comments to Mullany’s IDG post).
The topline results suggests the S4, not the iPhone, has the better browser. But that seems to be mostly in terms of features supplied. When it comes down to working with those features, the iPhone continues to rule.
Overall, the Galaxy S4 is a nicely upgraded HTML5 platform for Android users. It adds exciting new features like WebGL 3D graphics and IndexedDB local database storage. The Galaxy S4 overall checks more HTML5 feature boxes compared to iPhone 5, and has faster performance in some areas. However, we still have to give the overall advantage to the iPhone. Scrolling performance is still noticeably smoother on the iPhone. Android’s scroll stutter — micro-intervals of screen freeze-up during scrolls — is still visible on the S4 for styled content. We don’t know whether to hold Samsung or Android responsible for this continuing performance gap.However, Mullany does say that the S4 would already provide a better html5 experience if it were to use the Chrome browser.
Conclusion: “Samsung doesn’t have the software expertise to create world class html5 experiences.”
He also points out that the Chrome browser is delivered on S4 phones. It is not the default browser but it could with relative ease, be configured to be the default. In a very short space of time, Samsung could course-correct.
What’s stopping it is its own perverse belief that it does software innovation as well as it does hardware. Not yet.
Another way to read Sencha’s research is that they are getting close and the real divide is now down to sensible decision making. I’ve written about that problem elsewhere – companies with large innovation programs need ways to QA their strategic options planning and to be sure their decisions are on the money.
Samsung has a deficit right there – in the decisions it makes about what to launch and at what stage of development.
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