After Apple announced the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Samsung came out firing (once again) with a comparative print ad that pointed out the next best thing was already here in the form of the Note 4. And its approach to promoting the Galaxy Tab S is similarly comparative.
In a clip hosted by Tim Lambourne, he of Tech in a Sec fame, Samsung took an iPad Air 2 and a Galaxy Tab S out to the people to see which one they preferred. And, lo and behold, Samsung’s tablet was shown to be “clearer, brighter, better”.
No word on how many preferred the iPad Air 2. But, as one of the YouTube comments says: “I thought people were smart enough not to believe in market research done by the same company producing it.”
While Samsung’s baiting of Apple acolytes has been quite entertaining and very accurate, some see it as slightly desperate. As one astute StopPress commentor said about the Note 4 print ad: “Samsung still don’t get it. Mocking your competitors is like trying to win over a guy or girl by pointing out how unattractive other guys or girls are, rather than how attractive you are. People don’t buy rationally.”
As for the overall tablet market, IDC fugures show Android still dominates, but it expects growth to slow this year, largely because there wasn’t anything new enough to tempt users to upgrade (figures show sales of iPads fell for the first time).
Samsung sees plenty of growth potential in the Note range, and Note 4 sales have been pleasing when compared to the Note 3. But it is currently dealing with the fallout of missing sales targets for its Galaxy S5 by around 40 percent.
