Samsung

Samsung is a South Korean multibillion-dollar multinational conglomerate, or corporation made up of different types of companies. The most successful divisions of Samsung are Cheil Industries, Samsung Electronics, and Samsung Insurance. Cheil Industries, which began with fashions, manufactures and sells chemicals and electronic materials. Samsung Electronics is best known for creating and developing products such as smartphones and televisions. Samsung Insurance offers financial services. Samsung's other divisions manufacture and distribute numerous products and services, including aerospace and medical materials and supplies, petrochemicals, and semiconductors.

History

Byung-Chull Lee founded Samsung in 1938 in Taegu, Korea. The company first exported dried fish and produce. By 1954, the company established its first textile business, Cheil Industries. It then focused on insurance, acquiring Ankuk Fire & Marine Insurance (later Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance) in 1958 and Dong Bang Life Insurance (later Samsung Life Insurance) in 1963.

By the end of the decade, Samsung, which means "three stars" in Korean, got involved in the industry that would make the brand famous: electronics. It established Samsung-Sanyo Electronics in 1969, which would later become Samsung Electro-Mechanics and merge with Samsung Electronics. Samsung-Sanyo Electronics produced its first black-and-white television in 1970.

In the 1970s, the company focused on the heavy, chemical, and petrochemical industries with the formation of Samsung Heavy Industries and Samsung Petrochemical in 1974. Around this time, the company began producing washing machines, refrigerators, and microwaves. It also expanded its reach by investing in manufacturing companies such as Samsung Shipbuilding and Samsung Precision Company (later Samsung Techwin) in 1977. Near the end of the 1970s, Samsung Electronics began exporting its products.

Samsung further expanded its global reach in the 1980s. It focused on growing its electronics market, producing its first personal computer in 1983. Two years later, the newly formed Samsung Data Systems (later Samsung SDS) began its focus on the systems development business with an interest in information technology and networking services.

Samsung developed the smallest and lightest video recorder (or camcorder) in the world in 1986. The following year, Samsung increased its focus on developing new technology by creating Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology for research and development of industries such as electronics, semiconductors, optical telecommunications, and aerospace. Also in 1987, Byung-Chull Lee died, and his son Kun-Hee Lee became the new head of Samsung.

The 1990s signaled changes and challenges for Samsung. The company restructured itself, selling and merging some of its internal companies. It also refocused its efforts on developing technology in the growing market. In the early years of the decade, it developed a mobile phone system, multiple computer storage drives, and the world's first digital video disk recorder (DVD-R). The company then continued to work on computer, television, and mobile phone technology.

While South Korea experienced a downturn brought on by the 1997 financial crisis, Samsung continued to grow, becoming a leader in digital and network technologies and electronics. It was able to do this by restructuring the business and focusing on its strongest and best-performing companies. Samsung developed the world's first digital television and the company's first smartphone, as well as advanced computer technology.

The 2000s and Beyond

Samsung increased its presence as a world leader in technology and electronics in the new millennium. It released products such as the watch phone and high-definition (HD) digital television. It continued to work on the design of its televisions and smartphones, releasing new models with new features at an increasing speed. By 2004, the company had sold more than twenty million cell phones in the United States alone. Four years later, Samsung had captured the top spot in the cell phone market in the United States.

The company—especially the Samsung Electronics division—also began to receive much recognition during this time. In 2003, Fortuneranked it fifth on its Most Admired Electronics Company list. The company took home numerous Innovation Awards at the annual Consumer Electronics Show. In 2010, Interbrand ranked Samsung number nineteen on its Best Global Brands list. By 2013, it had risen to eighth place, and by 2016, it had taken seventh place.

Samsung had continued success with its other companies in the 2010s. Samsung Biologics, which specialized in biopharmaceuticals, was founded in 2011. Samsung Heavy Industries began to work with Shell on a floating liquefied natural gas facility in 2013. The company continued to expand its reach into 2015 with the development of numerous products and technologies to maintain its competitive edge.

In 2018, Samsung became the largest semiconductor supplier in the world. They remained the number one company in global smartphone shipments and semiconductor sales until 2024. The same year, Samsung demonstrated their AI-powered home robot assistant which integrates with smart home appliances, called Ballie. In June 2024, an estimated 28,000 Samsung employees went on the first strike in company history. The strike lasted until August 1, when workers returned without securing their demands. Another strike, localized in India, followed in September 2024, lasting for just over a month.

Galaxy

Samsung Electronics became very popular with the introduction of its Galaxy smartphone in 2009. The device, which rivaled Apple's iPhone, used an Android operating system and allowed users to search the Internet, store personal information, stream videos, play games, and more. While it enjoyed some success, the phone was not very popular.

Things changed the following year, when the company introduced the Galaxy S. This device had an upgraded operating system and a sleek design, making it the thinnest smartphone on the market at the time. The Galaxy S II appeared in 2011. This phone had more memory, storage, and a rear camera. It was highly successful and was named Smartphone of the Year at the Mobile World Congress Global Mobile Awards in 2012. Samsung sold more than forty million units. The device was ranked as the tenth most popular smartphone of all time.

In 2012, Samsung delivered the Samsung Galaxy S III, which offered many upgrades and interactive elements such as voice control. Like its predecessor, the Galaxy S III became very popular, selling more than sixty million units. Less than a year later, in March 2013, came the Galaxy S4, which offered features such as eye tracking and hover finger detection. It was also larger, having a five-inch screen. The fourth Galaxy S outsold all other Galaxy phones at eighty million units.

The Galaxy S5 debuted in 2014. It featured a 5.1-inch screen, full HD, and an updated camera. It also had more storage and promised faster download speeds. The company released the Galaxy S6 in April 2015. The following year, Samsung had released the Galaxy S7, the Galaxy S7 Edge, and the Galaxy Note 7. Each of these phones differed slightly in size, display, and capabilities. The Galaxy Note 7 was deemed the most promising product, boasting a unique curved glass display feature. However, in August 2016, reports started surfacing of consumers' Note 7 smartphones beginning to smoke and catch fire, sometimes while charging but also, more disconcertingly, at random while stored in pants pockets or nearby users. While Samsung announced a worldwide recall of the product in September and ordered its engineers to investigate the issue, airports had begun banning the phones from airplanes due to fears that they might combust while on board. Under pressure, Samsung's engineers diagnosed the problem as a faulty battery and began issuing replacement devices containing batteries from a different manufacturer. However, by October, some consumers began reporting that their replacement devices had exploded as well. Therefore, amidst great criticism regarding the company's trustworthiness and the safety of its products, and facing prodigious financial fallouts as well as the loss of the battle against Apple's new iPhone, Samsung announced that it had decided to halt production and sales of the Note 7 entirely, a rare move for such a technology giant. That same month, a group of disgruntled customers brought the first publicized lawsuit against the company regarding the situation, suing Samsung not for damages but for continuing to charge them fees without giving them a proper replacement for the damaged phones.

In addition to smartphones, Samsung produced Galaxy tablets, beginning with the Samsung Galaxy Tab in 2010, and phablets (smartphone tablets), starting with the Samsung Galaxy Note in 2011. Like its smartphone lines, Samsung continued to release newer versions in the years that followed.

Also in 2016, Samsung experienced further difficulties with a product but this time outside of the smartphone category. In early November, it was announced that the company was additionally recalling and offering service aid for more than two million top-load washers following user reports that the machines were vibrating excessively and that at some points, the lid had come completely off (in some cases rather explosively) of the machine.

Bibliography

Chen, Brian X., and Choe Sang-Hun. "Why Samsung Abandoned Its Galaxy Note 7 Flagship Phone." The New York Times, 11 Oct. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/10/12/business/international/samsung-galaxy-note7-terminated.html. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

Hall, Chris, et al. "From Galaxy S to Galaxy S24 Ultra, Here's a Complete Timeline of Samsung's Flagship Phones." Pocket-lint, 29 June 2024, www.pocket-lint.com/timeline-of-samsung-galaxy-flagship-android-phones-in-pictures/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

Johnson, Alex. "First U.S. Suit Filed over Exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Smartphones." NBC News, 18 Oct. 2016, www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/first-u-s-suit-filed-over-exploding-samsung-galaxy-note-n668541. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

"Lee Kun-Hee." Forbes, www.forbes.com/profile/lee-kun-hee/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

Mollan, Cherylann. "Samsung India Workers End Strike After More than a Month." BBC, 16 Oct. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4dk4gny8mo. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

"Where It All Began." Samsung, www.samsung.com/us/about-us/leadership-and-mission/heritage/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

Young, Jin Yu. "Samsung Employees Return to Work After Strike Fails to Win Concessions." The New York Times, 5 Aug. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/08/05/business/samsung-workers-end-strike.html. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.