These are the "big two" events that took place on Day 1 (Sunday 1 March):
1. SAMSUNG GALAXY S7 / S7 EDGE/ GEAR 360 : The South Korean giant launched two new flagship LTE Android smartphones for the first half of 2016, the S7 with 5.1 inch display and S7 edge with 5.5 inch. We found two flagship devices coming with similar design concepts as the predecessors, S6 and S6 edge, but noticed several eye-capturing selling-pointssuch as bigger battery, revived micro SD slot, Always-On Display, capless IP68 water resistance, dual-pixel camera with brighter F1.7 aperture and better graphic experience with world's first Vulkan API support. With this Samsung's technical completeness, consumers will be likely to forget about external battery, separate camera and gaming console, making S7 and S7 edge the only devices that they carry around to do everything that they need. On top of these two flagships, Samsung also launched its VR-contents-producing device, Gear 360 with a surprising appearance of Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook,signaling that two giant companies are both looking to generate big market out of Virtual Reality. Samsung's new devices will hit the shelves from March 2016, and how the curved display could enhance consumers' daily lives experience still remains one of the keys to the robust sales.
2. LG G5 / 360 VR / Modular Accessories (aka LG Friends) : Another South Korean giant unleashed its new flagship smartphone for the first half of 2016, G5 with 5.3 inch display. Surprisingly, this new LG flagship came with many interesting selling-points including Modular Design for battery, camera and high-performing audio, rear dual camera, Always-On Display on LCD, USB type C and stylish LG first metal unibody identity on flagship. LG should be getting a kudos for implementing both modular concept and metal design at the same time, the world's first, in which consumers will be able to experience many applications with top-notch quality, just by plugging in the necessary modules, offered by LG as accessories. LG CAM Plus makes camera user experience more comfortable while Hi-Fi Plus Audio DAC, a collaboration with B&O, strengthens high-definition audio user experience. LG is trying to regain its market share by prioritizing on two most important killer applications of the recent smartphone industry, CAMERA and AUDIO. LG also launched more modules, such as wearable LG 360 VR, LG 360 CAM and LG Rolling Bot, LG Smart Controller, a collaboration with Parrot. LG did a great job pulling off appealing and active design concept, and LG will also need to carry out appealing and active marketing promotions to lead to the healthy sales in the market.
This completes Day 1, and please check back tomorrow for Day 2 blog.
Source: Strategy Analytics
