Big 4 Smartphones
With the launches of big 4 phones of Samsung, LG, Apple, and Google imminent in the second half of this, these companies are not only competing but also cooperating with each other with respect to new models.
According to industry sources on July 24, it is forecast that the new premium phones to be launched in the second half of the year will be the results of the companies’ active competition and cooperation at the same time.
Typically, some of Google's premium phone Pixel 2 will be produced by LG Electronics. Google adopted a structure in which premium phones are planned, designed, and manufactured by other manufacturers. The Pixel, Google’s first premium phone launched last year, was produced by Taiwan's HTC on commission.
Before launching its own brand premium phone, Google had collaborated with major manufacturers since the planning stage of the reference phone Nexus Phone for an Android operating system (OS) test and launched the model. LG Electronics joined forces with Google to produce the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, and Nexus 5X. Some experts say that the two companies will continue to cooperate for the Pixel phone following the Nexus phone, which will lead to further expansion of cooperation between Google and LG Electronics in the field of smart phones.
In addition, LG Electronics will load the premium phone 'V30' with 'Daydream', a virtual reality (VR) platform of Google, in the second half of the year. LG Electronics, which does not have its own AI service, uses Google Assistant, Google's voice recognition-based AI assistant as its main AI service.
Samsung Electronics, a member of the Android group, will also install Google’s AI assistant in the Galaxy Note 8. Samsung Electronics, which has its own AI service 'Bixby', has two voice assistants in its smartphone.
Furthermore, Apple chose Samsung Display as a parts supplier. It was reported that it adopted a curved display led by Samsung Electronics smartphones for the 'iPhone 8' to be launched this year.
Such competition and cooperation strategies hint at a trend that the enhancement of premium phone technologies across the board makes it difficult to make a big change in technology. Analysis says that differences between details of similar functions and performance are what differentiate products.