Samsung Series 9: Get the details right

Samsung is definitely doing great things in the tech space. Their televisions are unmatched, their smartphones give the iPhone a run for its money, and their marketing is unparalleled. But now they’ve taken a step in the wrong direction with the Series 9. It starts with a commercial I saw a mere seven minutes ago.

The commercial went something exactly like this:

“Just when you think you have it all. Something thinner and sexier comes along to replace you. Introducing the new Samsung Series 9 with the Intel Core i5 processor. The world’s thinnest 15-inch laptop. It’s time for some fresh air.”

Now I’m not going to lie. The commercial was well executed. Well designed and structured. Excellent voiceover and background music (what’s that song?). It was just two parts that got me. One was visual, one vocal.

Strike 1: The visual problem was the comparison. When the commercial opened up, the camera zoomed into a 13-inch MacBook Air on display. For one thing, the 13 inch MacBook Air is just that. A 13-inch. If you want to compare your new 15-inch laptop to something Samsung, choose a 15-inch competitor.

Strike 2: The point that was being made in the 30-second commercial was that the Series 9 was both “thinner and sexier.” Well, the sexy part is a personal opinion, but the thinner part is plain numbers. The Samsung Series 9 15-inch laptop is thinner than any other 15-inch laptop, but it’s not thinner than the 13-inch MacBook Air. Well not entirely. Its dimensions are 14.0" (W) x 9.3" (D) x 0.58" (H). The MacBook Air’s dimensions are 12.8" (W) x 8.94" (D) x 0.11-0.68" (H). The main comparison here are the heights. The Series 9 is .58" all the way through. The MacBook Air is .68" at its thickest. Now although that’s .1" thicker, it’s .1" thicker for probably 15% of its form-factor.

Now I know what you’re saying. What’s the point? Well, there is none really. I’m just upset with the details of the commercial. If Samsung had simply swapped out the MacBook Air for the new Retina MacBook Pro, things would have been better and faultless. It clearly is thinner than the new MacBook Pro’s .71" height.

Anyway, congrats to you Samsung, on making then thinnest laptop. As for me, however, I’ll be ordering my Retina MacBook Pro tonight. Why? Because the Retina MacBook Pro is the only 15-inch laptop in the world with a Retina display. Simple.

P.S. Nice play on the fresh “air.”