Weeks after the release of the Galaxy S5, Samsung’s Head of design Chang Dong-hoon has offered to quit as the head of Samsung’s mobile design team last week, after criticism over the apparent lack of innovation on the latest smartphone design, reports Reuters.
Chang Dong-hoon will be replaced by Lee Min-hyouk, currently VP of Samsung mobile design, a Samsung spokeswoman said on Thursday.
“The realignment will enable Chang to focus more on his role as head of the Design Strategy Team, the company’s corporate design center which is responsible for long-term design strategy across all of Samsung’s businesses, including Mobile Communications,” Samsung said in a statement.
The new Galaxy S5 was received a lukewarm response from consumers due to its lack of exciting hardware innovations.It also has a perforated back and has been widely panned for its ‘uninspiring design’, looking too similar to predecessors and having a plastic, plaster-like feel.
Samsung now sells two times more smartphones than Apple, largely thanks to the success of Galaxy range. But the South Korean firm has also been battling patent litigation the world over, with Apple claiming Samsung copied the look and feel of the U.S. firm’s mobile products.
Lee, 42, is widely known as ‘Midas’ for his part in the creation of the hailed Galaxy smartphone line, which has elevated the Korean’s to being crowned the worlds’ most successful phone maker. Samsung smartphone sales stand at almost double sales of Apple iPhone, analyst figures show.
Samsung insist the “realignment” will allow Chang to focus on his job as head of Design Strategy Team, responsible for long-term design strategy across the whole company.
S5 went on sale on April 11, but is still a hugely popular phone despite criticism, retail execs say.
