When Samsung unveiled its Galaxy S4 flagship last week, many people were disappointed that it featured almost the same plastic design as its successor. This caused many people to pose the question: HTC One or Galaxy S4? The Galaxy S4 is made out of total plastic, while the HTC One is anodized aluminum, and let’s face it, it’s pretty sleek. But, the same question was posed last year with the One X. A gorgeous solid design, or a plastic Galaxy S III? Take a look at the companies’ earnings and it’s pretty obvious what decision consumers made. So, it’s pretty clear that Samsung has something working for its design.
At a recent conference the head of Samsung Design America Dennis Miloseski spoke out on Samsung’s design choices and what they think when designing a phone that will undoubtedly be used by millions. Miloseki says that, as the form factor evolves for Samsung, it will focus on how a user interacts with their device and the relationship between the user and smartphone. “It’s known that hardware design will improve over time, but now we’re thinking about ‘How do you create a soul for a device?’,” the executive explained.
As you would expect, the argument we mentioned above did come up during the interview, and Miloseski explained why Samsung would use plastic over a more high-end material. He says that you should never begin designing something with a particular material in mind. Never did he say “Let’s make a phone out of plastic,” while designing the Galaxy line of devices. Instead, the material was used based on different use cases and preferences by consumers and combining all those into a final product.
“Actually, the global design process has been raised. We’re making devices thinner, lighter, making screens more beautiful. With Samsung, it’s less about that but more about building a meaningful relationship with technology and finding a way, as these devices become smarter, to let them sense where you are and adjust to that.”
In the end, Miloseki said that Samsung’s goal is to put less hardware and glass in front of consumers, but to rather form a relationship between users and phones and helping people connect with each other.
Personally, I’m sort of disappointed in the fact that the Galaxy S4 is an all plastic design, especially because the HTC One was just announced and it’s incredibly gorgeous. What do you think of Samsung’s decision? Let us know in the comments!