Samsung's gone for the refreshing approach of telling the truth when it comes to its software prowess - or lack of - with the company's CEO admitting it needs work.
Speaking to analysts this week, Kwon Oh-hyun said that the company has been hiring more software experts and founding new overseas research and development centres to improve localised services.
In fact, half of Samsung's R&D crew is now focusing on software, and Kwon expects that ratio to shift even further in software's favour in the near future.
Relying on a baseball analogy paraphrased by the WSJ, he explained that no team is likely to be equally good at batting and fielding - the implication being that no company should expect to be "equally strong" in hardware and software.
"Even though we're doing the software business," he said, "we're not as good as we are in hardware."
Truth hurts
A rare bit of truth-telling? Perhaps, or perhaps this is a brave new Samsung - Kwon added, "We are quite open. We are quite different. We have changed."
Sure, Samsung. Sure. Later in the day, JK Shin, Samsung's head of mobile, added that it is working towards a "fully integrated" software experience across all Samsung devices which could mean big changes afoot for its smart TVs and laptops to bring them in line with the Galaxy Note, Tab and S ranges and perhaps a lessening of Samsung's reliance on Android.
The overall plan, Shin says, is to become the world's "most beloved" mobile company, with the game plan being to overtake iPad sales in the tablet world.
- Want to help Samsung out? Try the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0
