Soon after Samsung launched the Galaxy S8, Microsoft announced that they will be selling the ‘Microsoft Edition of S8’ at their official stores both online as well as offline. The same thing happened with the Galaxy Note 8. But, now Samsung confirms that there is no Microsoft Edition of their 2017 flagships.
The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 sold by Microsoft does not come with new hardware or functionality. The only difference between the regular and Microsoft sold one are the bundled Microsoft apps in the latter.
To elaborate, the Microsoft sold ones come with Arrow launcher (renamed to Microsoft launcher), Word, Excel, Outlook, OneDrive, Cortana and other Microsoft apps pre installed. This was just a strategy by Microsoft to enable users to access their ecosystem via world’s most sold Android smartphones.
And now, after many months Samsung confirms that “there is not a ‘Microsoft Edition’ brand of any Samsung Galaxy products”. These are only Samsung branded, but come with Microsoft experience for some select users out there.
The official statement given by Samsung to Windows Central
Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, and Galaxy Note8 devices are available in the Microsoft online and retail stores with a unique Microsoft experience which ensures their customers, particularly small-to-midsize business owners and entrepreneurs, a best-in-class productivity experience. There is not a ‘Microsoft Edition’ brand of any Samsung Galaxy products.
But, the question here is why Samsung took too much time to explain this? What are your thoughts on this marketing strategy? Let us know in the comment section.
