In a recent Apple -Samsung patent court case, Internal Apple documents give the impression that the company was scrambling to identify and decide on ways to contend with Android devices, as well as keep sales of the iPhone from reducing amid growing competition.
Apple Admits larger screens are the way forward
Based on several 2014 planning documents from last April, show during a cross-examination of Apple’s marketing chief Phil Schiller, where he highlighted that smartphone growth rates were declining, and this could potentially impact iPhone sales. And in a twit of consumer behavior, the document further acknowledges, that there was growing consumer interest for less expensive, larger-screened smartphones, with a headline on the page reading “consumers want what we don’t have.”
Samsung’s attorney Bill Price presented further documents that read “it was a switchers battle in developed markets,” and that “in two years, our target Android switcher will be used to a display with much larger than four inches.” The company’s current 4 inch limit on the iPhone 5S and iPod touch are the largest screen sizes they make, though recent reports have suggested it’s gearing up production for of two larger phones: one at 4.7 inches, and another with a 5.5-inch display to stay ahead of the competition.
Samsung’s ads are not making it any easy for Apple
Samsung’s lawyers used the opportunity with Apple’s head of marketing Schiller and highlighted his email conversations with other top Apple executives and outside agencies about what was viewed as a clearly noticeable effective ad campaign by Samsung.
Schiller wrote in a perturbed email to James Vincent from Apple’s outside ad agency Media Arts Lab
“These guys are feeling itlike an athlete who can’t miss because they are in the zone) while we struggle to nail a compelling brief on iPhone. That’s sad because we have much better products. I now have Apple board members asking ‘what is going on with advertising and what are you going to do to fix it. The team is too good to be in this spot.”
Samsung presented further evidence that implied that Apple is concerned over the Samsung “next big thing” ads. Samsung pushed the matter in its cross-examination of Schiller — pulling up a related email thread between Schiller and Cook — where Schiller expressed unhappiness with Media Arts Lab’s response to his concerns. Schiller wrote in an email to Apple CEO Cook in an email
“We may need to start a search for a new agency, I’ve tried hard to keep this from being the situation, but we are not getting what we need from them and haven’t been for a while.”
So why is this coming out at this point? What’s at stake in this trial is whether Samsung copied Apple’s patented features when it sold some 37 million phones and tablets at the start of August 2011. On Monday the trial began on Monday and involved five feature patents from Apple, and two from Samsung. An eight-person jury will determine which devices infringed, with Apple asking for $2 billion in damages, and Samsung asking for $6.9 million.
