Apparently no one had thought to explain to the company's top brass how important design was to the company.

According to the Korean Times Samsung presidents listened to a lecture by a renowned product design expert Cho Kwang-soo. More to the point news of such a meeting leaked out.

"Meeting customer expectations is really important for the Internet of Things (IoT)-oriented businesses. Tireless overhaul in UX means that you can have more opportunities in an era of IoT," Samsung Future Strategy Office said in a statement.

The office functions as a control tower managing key business decisions on the group affiliates and guiding them to prepare for their next businesses.
Cho Kwang-soo told the top brass that the mantra of "one person, one device" has passed.

"Today, 'one person, multi device' has become the main trend, meaning that one person is now being connected to multiple devices. Without understanding about human nature, you can't develop products that can meet consumer expectations," Cho said.

Learning from Apple again

Chief Samsung communications officer Lee Joon said the Apple iPhone was presented as the right device that has shown remarkable advancements in user-experience design.

With the launch of the Galaxy S6, Samsung made the decision to remove some of the key hardware elements. Earlier versions of its Galaxy line of devices had been noted for replaceable batteries and support for expandable storage.

With the S6, Samsung has exorcised these elements, creating more sterile smartphone designs. Samsung's executive vice president Lee Young-hee earlier said such a major overhaul in the product's design will appeal more to customers.