A new report out of the company’s home country suggests that Samsung may be giving up on digital cameras, at least as far as standalone cameras go. According to the source, Samsung will “no longer produce and sell digital cameras.” Because the cameras included with smartphones are of such high quality, the source continues, even big camera companies with more than 100 years of history are “struggling to compete in the premium market.” This has forced Samsung to reconsider its position, in light of lacking competitiveness, with the company planning to “create a new camera category to continue business.”
It is important to note that the inside source spoke on a condition that their identity remains unknown, according to the April 7 The Investor publication, which could mean the information here is either not meant to go public or that the source is not actually officially tied to Samsung. While shifts in market strategy are not at all uncommon across the many industries of the world, it is a bit unusual to hear about them anonymously instead of from the company itself. However, the new camera product category being alluded to here could very well include the company’s recently announced 4k-rated Gear 360 camera and the related VR capture tools currently being marketed by the electronics giant. Samsung also recently filed a patent for a dual smartphone camera, so the company could also be trying to reposition itself to bring some as-yet-unknown game-changer to the industry through its smartphones. Neither of the two is necessarily something that could be claimed to be a “new category” of camera since 360-degree cameras and dual smartphone shooters have previously been done, but both appear fairly innovative in their respective categories. Barring those two possibilities, the manufacturer could also be working on something else entirely that nobody will see coming.
All things considered, and since the source remains anonymous, Samsung may have left the digital camera space or may simply be taking more time to focus on its other hardware advancements. The company’s last standalone camera effort was way back in 2015 but until the company decides to release some kind of official statement, it would be most logical to conclude that speculation is all that can be had.