Samsung is seeing a bit of a leadership shakeup amid criticism for the design of its latest handsets.
Chang Dong-hoon, Samsung's former head of mobile design, reportedly offered to step down from his position last week. (Via The Verge)
Initial reports suggested Chang had resigned from the company altogether, but Samsung clarified he had survived the "realignment" in a new capacity.
Engadget reports Chang will now head up the design strategy team. His old VP, Lee Min-hyouk, will take his place.
Samsung hasn't explained why its officials are taking on new roles, but industry watchers suspect it has to do with the design of Samsung's latest Galaxy S4 and S5 phones. (Via Android Authority)
Critics have taken issue with what Digital Trends describes as Samsung's "lack of visual excitement."
Of course, as a writer for Android Central points out, there's an argument to be made Samsung's phones are plenty visually exciting — just in the wrong ways.
"I think I audibly let out a sound that was something along the lines of 'aaaahuughhhh' upon seeing the shimmering dimpled gold back of the Galaxy S5."
He probably wouldn't like the Swarovski S5 then, either. (Via Samsung)
So the tech press doesn't like Samsung's looks. But that's not stopping the company from doing quite well.
The latest numbers from IDC show Samsung shipped 85 million smartphones last quarter and has an industry-leading 30 percent of the market all to itself.
Future numbers will show what effect, if any, Chang's moving on will have on Samsung's performance. The company says he'll stay somewhat involved with smartphone design in his new role.
