Samsung has replaced its head of the mobile design division Dong-hoon Chang following criticisms of the recently released Samsung Galaxy S5.
The latest Samsung Galaxy smartphone has earned a lot of flak for its apparently unexciting design, even earning the nickname of "The Band-Aid Phone," in reference to the plastic dimpled casing of the back of the Galaxy S5.
"From the front, the Galaxy S5 is an unassuming yet attractive device. There's only so much one can do with the front of a smartphone. It's dominated by a screen, after all," writes Derek Kessler of Android Central. "But flip the Galaxy S5 over and 'oh my god what happened?'"
Other reviewers are not as harsh as Kessler, but they were not excited either.
"A year ago, I wondered if HTC's gorgeous, metallic One would inspire or challenge Samsung to leave behind its cheap, plasticky ways and build a smartphone as beautiful as it is feature-rich. The Galaxy S5 is not that phone," says David Pierce of The Verge.
Engadget's Brad Molen simply describes the phone as "not a visual treat" although he doesn't think it is ugly.
Chang sent in his resignation letter last week. He will be replaced by Min-hyouk Lee, vice president of mobile design and is known for his initial role in designing the Galaxy series, which eventually unseated Apple's iPhone as the king of smartphones.
Lee started out as a designer for Samsung's failed partnership with Renault in 1992, but went up the ranks as Samsung's youngest senior executive in 2010 after the Galaxy smartphones became a worldwide success.
Chang, who previously taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, offered to leave the company, but Samsung has decided to retain him as the head of its overall design strategy team.
In spite of the smartphone's alleged lack of beauty, Samsung still managed to sell the most number of smartphones in the fourth quarter of 2013 owing largely to aggressive marketing. It has taken over 29.6% of the market share and sold 86 million units. In contrast, Apple, Samsung's biggest competitor, sold 51 million iPhones, which comprises 22% of the market share.
However, Samsung is up to its knees in legal obligations as its latest patent battle with Apple resulted in the courts ordering Samsung to pay $930 million in damages for copying a number of Apple's smartphone technologies. While the amount is nothing more than pocket change for both companies, the verdict isn't likely going to help Samsung, which wants to be seen as an innovative company.
