SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – When Samsung dubbed development of its latest smartphones “Project Zero,” it was sounding a note of desperation as sales tumbled and it lost pole position in the crucial Chinese market to rivals Xiaomi and Apple.
The results of its overhaul, the flagship Galaxy S6 smartphone and the S6 Edge, go on sale in 20 countries on Friday. Samsung, which said “Project Zero” signified starting from scratch, is hoping a revamped design, a more intuitive interface and less clutter will help claw back lost market share.
They are Samsung’s first flagship products to hit shelves since its mobile business suffered a 40 percent slump in earnings last year. It retained its position as the world’s top selling smartphone maker last year, but was the only top-five smartphone maker to sell fewer phones. In the final quarter of 2014 it slipped marginally behind Apple in sales, according to Gartner, a market research firm.
Consumers and media were head over heels over Apple’s new iPhones with bigger screens, while the plastic foundation of Samsung’s Galaxy models was increasingly derided as looking cheap. In China, Samsung was unprepared for the sudden popularity of cheaper smartphones made by local manufacturer Xiaomi.
As part of its rethink, Samsung replaced executives in its mobile team while keeping the CEO and streamlined its various moving parts. So far the changes seem to be paying off.