Thread regarding Qualcomm Inc. layoffs

Mobile margins are dead, old news. QCOM needs to get out asap until there is someone who can overcharge like apple we can sell to. 5g, iot, and datacenters.

Anonymous127809, The problem is the problem is getting worse and it's exponentially. Especially going to be really really bad once the Google-M release comes out shortly. With the M-release, differentiation is really going to be a really big problem. Huawei is going to prove that the lines between tier 2 and tier 1 are going to be really blurred once that Nexus phone launches. And as any nexus device, they get the first crack at the newest Android O/S, before everyone else that isn't the picked OEM for the Nexus device. No one else gets a head start on the M release until the code is generally available on AOSP. So unless you are a Google partner actively working on it, you have to wait.

@ Anonymous127779, not a naysayer -- just was bored of the repetitive "Good Enough" rantings. This is like your 20th copy-paste on the topic. The first 3 or 4 were "good enough"

Anonymous127790, Totally agree with you. That's why I went to Google to work on Android.

The good news in the short term is that... Neither Samsung or LG are doing the next Nexus Phone. It's Huawei, and most likely will have the 820. Though the Nexus devices are a low volume device, it at least will be purchased by the developer community.

Motorola phones, BTW, are looking really good, and same with LG. Unlike Samsung and HTC, neither LG or Motorola do heavy customizations.

The other problem that companies like Samsung has which is exactly what brought down HTC was they invested so much time/resources into trying to differentiate themselves from every other Android player, that they have a heavily customized Android O/S from Google's AOSP based Android. So every single time Google comes up with a new Android release, there's this song/dance/party at these tier one companies to try to port their customization from the previous release to the newest release. That extra customization use to be a key differentiator for the Tier 1 Android phones when a stock AOSP based Android phone sucked back in the earlier days. But with the stock AOSP Android O/S looking really good, all these heavy customizations are becoming more burdensome with no really that much benefit.

If Samsung, LG,etc really want to sell more smartphones, they'll work with the carriers in the U.S. and bring back carrier subsidies.

I told you this was happening, but some of you naysayers didn't believe it. I saw this happening just working at all the Android O/S and seeing all the phones that all the OEMs are putting out. It's getting really hard to tell the difference between a tier 1 Android phone from Samsung/LG/Motorola/HTC(although arguably it's now tier 2) and a tier 2 phone like Xiaomi, ZTE,Alacael.... Android has gotten so much better that there really is little need for each OEM to heavily customize Android and and their own flavor to it. Samsung doesn't need to add so much customization and bloatware with their TouchWiz...They are making the same mistake that HTC made with their SenseUI in that they spent so much resources to maintain that customized look and feel, when the majority of the people either don't care or actually hate it because it looks much different than the standard Android Lollipop release. For the majority of phone users, they don't need the fastest/best app processor, and most people can't tell the diference between a great LTE modem and a so-so one from Samsung's LSI group. The only thing that matters (right now) is how good a connectivity solution a phone has, because people will notice if their wifi stinks (and to a lesser extend Bluetooth/NFC). But Qualcomm isn't a leader in connectivity and has no standalone soluton for that. That's why Broadcom/Avago keeps winning connectivity in tier 1 where the Snapdragon is absent. That $100 Alcatel phone with a MediaTek SOC will meet the need of 80% of the people that only need "a basic smart phone"....And look at this way. With carrier subsidies gone, a tier 1 Android phone like the Galaxy S6 costs about $600....That's roughly the same cost as an Apple iPhone 6. Some a lot of people aren't going to spend $600 on an Android phone as much as they are going to spend $600 on an iPhone 6, which sad to say, has a much better user experience than even the latest Android Lollipop phones. Most people don't care that you can do background jobs on Android, that it can do Google Cast, that it has a much richer number of Bluetooth profiles to allow you to use MAP read messages in your car, that it supports WifiDirect, or that you can much eaiser tether a laptop to your phone by setting up a hotspot. The average consumer (at least in the U.S.) is still pretty dumb and a basic user....Phone, text, facebook, email, browse web, calendar,twitter.

Phones are still content "consumption" devices. That means the race to continue to add features, crank up performance, improve battery life has a lower probability of a "good return on investment" in the face of "good enough". And the development isn't getting cheaper as new process nodes are getting more expensive to move to.

Phones have to transform into something else that can actually make use of the silicon innovation and provide real differentiating value.

"Brilliant minds in CRD?" LMFAO!

Q empire is starting to crack, I am afraid.

That could be the beginning of the end for Mobile in America.

Imploding is more like it.

Mark my words- Qualcomm is the Incredible Shrinking Company!

Mark my words- Qualcomm is the Incredible Shrinking Company!

OP here once again, sorry folks it was a major omission not to mention Huawei (in addition to xiaomi and OnePlus) which has just kicked MSFT to third position in phone shipments. Bottom line -- "exclusive top tier" has ended in android camp.

Q is going to have to compete on cost and on price as mobile at high end is becoming mainstream commodity, confirmed by this article. We are in trouble.

OP here again. Essentially in order to win what Qualcomm needs is, a) high tier android maker like Samsung to maintain its exclusive aura and high pricing, and, b) use qualcomm chipsets instead of its own chipsets, and, c) also gain high tier market share from apple and it's exclusive ios kingdom. The probability of (a & b & c) isn't that great in current market scenario -- will need a miracle. Increasingly there will be a case for spinning off the semiconductor operations while retaining brilliant minds from there into Corp R&D and engage them in whatever the future holds -- 5G and IoT??

-- ExQcom

We are Screwed!!!