“Samsung is doubling down on technology investments in its competitor [Apple]’s backyard, including two new R&D buildings in Silicon Valley that will house 2,000 staff and a recently announced startup accelerator,” Jessica Leber reports for MIT Technology Review.
“Leading this effort is Young Sohn, who started at Samsung in August as president and chief strategy officer. He has spent a long career leading several successful Silicon Valley semiconductor and storage companies after founding Intel’s PC chipset business and running its joint venture with Samsung in the 1980s,” Leber reports. “MIT Technology Review… sat down with Sohn in his office in Menlo Park, California, to talk about his new mandate.”
Young Sohn’s comments include:
Samsung doesn’t want to be complacent. To get to the next stage of growth, the innovation engine is critical. You need to have the right people. You cannot just optimize talent in Korea—you have to optimize talent overseas, and being close to critical innovation centers like Silicon Valley is important to us.
MacDailyNews Take: Oh, we bet it is. We bet it is.
I use a Mac, actually, at home. I’ve always used Mac, an iPhone, and an iPad… If you look at the strengths of Apple, in a way it’s not the product per se. It’s that consumers like their ecosystem such as iCloud. I like that my family 6,000 miles away in Korea is able to see my schedule and see all of my contacts and photos.
MacDailyNews Take: Only the best to Samsung’s Young Sohn. Only the best.
Full interview here.
MacDailyNews Take: What a joke of a company. Samsung can’t even make their top executives stop using Apple products, much less make their own OS.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Double07” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Is Samsung copying Apple’s patented earphones? It sure looks like it – September 8, 2012
Samsung mimics Apple product videos in Galaxy S III promo (with video) – August 24, 2012
Now slavish copycat Samsung attempts to knockoff Apple’s retail stores (with video) – August 23, 2012
Samsung: Shameless slavish copiers – August 13, 2012
Apple attorney: Instead of innovating, Samsung chose to copy iPhone and iPad – July 31, 2012
Apple: Google warned Samsung against slavishly copying our products – July 25, 2012
Now Samsung slavishly copies Apple’s Mac mini – June 1, 2012
Samsung Mobile chief ‘designer’ denies that Samsung’s instinct is to slavishly copy Apple – March 23, 2012
Slavish copier Samsung shamelessly steals Apple’s iPhone 3G design – again – January 3, 2012
Slavish copier Samsung uses girl actress from iPhone 4S ad for Galaxy Tab 8.9 spot (with video) – January 2, 2012
Now Samsung’s slavishly copying Apple’s iPad television ads (with videos) – December 30, 2011
Judge: Can you tell me which is iPad and which is yours? Samsung lawyer: ‘Not at this distance your honor’ – October 14, 2011
Why are Apple’s icons on the wall of Samsung’s store? – September 24, 2011
Apple to Samsung: ‘Blatant copying is wrong’ – April 18, 2011
Apple sues Samsung for attempting to copy look and feel of iPhone, iPad – April 18, 2011
Samsung’s ‘Instinct’ is obviously to make Apple iPhone knockoffs – April 1, 2008
yeah sure, and my girlfriend is Olivia Wilde.
Oooooolivia Wilde. I’m reading your post in public. Good think I’m not wearing sweatpants.
Maybe Oscar Wilde or Oscar Meyer
and shes dating this guy: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Sudeikis)
really olivia? really?
As much as anyone not on the Apple bandwagon on this planet I was sceptical of Steve Jobs’ reality distortion field, at first when I was still a hostage to Microsoft’s Stockholm Syndrome.
When I bought my first Apple product, an iPhone 4, I became increasingly immersed in the Apple ecosystem that led to a MacBook Pro, an iPad 3, subsequently an iPhone 4S and a myriad of Apple appliances like an AirPort Express. When you’re ‘locked’ into the Apple ecosystem everything works seamlessly together. AirPlay off my AirPort Express is just brilliant – no wires anywhere.
Samsung lacks an ecosystem – the best it can manage on the PC front is a MacBook Air knock-off running Windows 8. That is a poor substitute for an Apple experience.
Once you go Mac, you never go back.
hear hear…
Really???..you don’t say.
What better way to make friends and see what to copy next,
Only better way is to get a job at Apple or to get on the board
like another competitor did. Should be able to send in a trojan
soldier or a troop!
I use Chromebook, Galaxy SIII and Galaxy Tab 10. Can someone tell me why I can’t get a date with someone besides Palmala Anderson?
Samsung fanboys pray for Minka Kelly but know deep in their hearts that they’ll only pull Rosie O’Donnell.
Minka Kelly dated Fez, so there’s hope for all of us.
I just hope its genuine and not a compliment to our face and a dagger in the back. Be careful
MDN: “What a joke of a company. Samsung can’t even make their top executives stop using Apple products, much less make their own OS.”
So MDN thinks M$ is not a joke company?
Young Son uses Apple products at home for RESEARCH and COPYING!
I was wondering when someone would catch on to where Samsung’s marching orders to produce Apple like products came from.
Now we see Samsung’s entire R&D department and the rest is just a bit of fiddling and seeing how Android can be made to emulate IOS.
Actually, Samsung execs and R+D should be using competitors products to prevent from being myopic / having the blinders on. I work for a company that strongly discourages use of any competitors products, including Apple. It has caused way too many employees to like in a bubble…
“Oh Mr. Sohn…you have a call from South Korea on line 1.” 🙂
Title should read,
“I use Apple Mac, iPhone, and iPad…to better copy them”
This is not news MDN! Of course Samsung execs use Apple products!!! How else would then know what to build next?
Wait, what exactly does he mean when he says he “uses Apple products”?
Because I don’t think he means that (just) in the conventional sense.
So, has Tim made him a job offer yet ?
It sounds like the President of Samsung is making a subtle suggestion to Google and Microsoft to get their shit in order and create software products that rival the value of Apple’s.
Maybe Apple can swap him for Forstall?