Samsung’s list of Qualcomm-induced stress gets 400+ new entries at once

Samsung and Qualcomm’s relationship appears to be reaching new “it’s complicated” levels after a new report raised an alarming number of concerns concerning the security of a key chip from the San Diego-based tech giant. Over 400 of them, to be exact, as that’s how many vulnerabilities were recently brought to Qualcomm’s attention concerning one of its widely used Digital Signal Processor units. So, not really chips – a chip.

Known industry quantity Check Point Research is behind the new findings, which were already disclosed to Qualcomm prior to publication, as is customary.  However, given the massive scope of the findings, Qualcomm and its clients will be patching them for a while yet. As a result, we have no choice but to wait for most of their technical details to arrive at a later date. What’s been disclosed so far explains the nature of the vulnerabilities, but without breaking down the affected chips or devices using them.

Among the more concerning findings are large volumes of harvestable image data exploitable for user spying purposes, flaws allowing attackers to keep devices in an unresponsive state of fake data processing, and attack vectors so deep that malicious actors could perform all of those actions completely undetected and irreversible. Regarding the latter, DSP chips are as proprietary as tech gets, and as with any other attempt at the so-called “security through obscurity”, addressing any vulnerabilities rising from such black-box components is a nightmare.

The line between ‘healthy’ and ‘toxic’ rivalry is getting blurry

And while Qualcomm continues to frustrate Samsung Electronics (and the rest of the industry) with constant chipset price hikes and a licensing system that’s borderline-hostile toward anyone hoping to use rival solutions, the Korean juggernaut’s foundry business is presently under some added pressure over the lucrative 5nm order concerning Qualcomm’s 2021 flagship chipsets. Namely, it appears a significant portion of that batch will go to TSMC instead of Samsung. Not that Qualcomm isn’t smart to diversify its supply network as much as possible, of course. But the dynamic between the duo has been exhibiting some pretty serious signs of toxicity throughout the last decade, starting with the CDMA controversy.

That is, starting with the fact Samsung’s own Exynos chips have been priced out of the U.S. with laser-point accuracy called Qualcomm’s legal counsel and CDMA patents integral to last-gen network standards. Then again, the Exynos team hasn’t been doing too hot lately, with its struggles reaching what was internally described as a “humiliating” performance difference between its in-house Exynos 990 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 shortly after the Galaxy S20 line debuted in March this year, so that’s one win Samsung fans in the U.S. would probably be willing to concede to the North American chipmaker.

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Yes, Samsung knows the Galaxy Note 20 price is ridiculous: Here’s why

Last week’s Galaxy Unpacked 2020 saw Samsung announce a variety of amazing tech, though some of its newly unveiled products certainly seem to be pushing the limits of consumer goodwill in terms of pricing. The prime example of that aggressive product strategy is the Galaxy Note 20, whose starting price of $999 looks pretty baffling from the perspective of anyone this smartphone is geared toward. Could Samsung have possibly been so tone-deaf to not understand this while deciding on how to price its next flagship lineup?

Of course not, and here’s why.

It’s all about the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra not being overpriced

The ridiculous $999 price tag (obviously) isn’t meant to make the Galaxy Note 20 seem like a horrible deal; that’s just the inevitable side effect of asking for a grand in exchange for what some would argue is barely even a flagship in 2020 terms. The actual goal of doing so is making the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra seem like a better deal in comparison – which it most certainly is. In a world where profit margins were set in stone, the Galaxy Note 20 would be a $750 device, at best. Alas, with the technology always getting better and more accessible, Samsung can’t even maintain its income in existing markets, let alone improve it, due to the constantly growing competition. Which is what’s pushing it to look toward new markets, most notably the ultra-premium device bracket it’s been single-handedly driving for several years now.

So, if the Galaxy Note 20 was priced in a reasonable manner, it would likely absolutely crush the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra in terms of sales. Yet the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra’s price range is where Samsung’s smartphone profits lie in the long term. As a result, many consumers, no matter how savvy or illiterate in the ways of tech, will look at the $999 Galaxy Note 20, then compare it to the $1,299 Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and figure they might as well pay $300 more for a device that’s so much better in nearly every respect. As for everyone else, Samsung is more than happy to charge them a grand for that regular Galaxy Note 20.

Whether that’s an example of an ingenious product strategy or utterly anti-consumer behavior is up for debate. In reality, it’s probably a bit of both. What’s less debatable is how Samsung hardly invented the psychology of pricing. The aforementioned tactic has been in use for a long time and is commonly referred to as “the decoy effect” in sales circles. If you ever bought a large-sized popcorn at the movies, you probably did so under the influence of that very same phenomenon. The overpriced nature of the Galaxy Note 20 hence stems from the same school of thought that brought us other cheap sales tricks like odd prices, aka the reason Samsung isn’t asking a round $1,000 for its latest entry-level flagship.

None of that makes the Galaxy Note 20 price tag more acceptable from a consumer standpoint. But this is one of those “don’t hate the player, hate the game” scenarios, so if you’re adamant to avoid overpaying for your next smartphone as much as possible while still insisting on a flagship, you’ll definitely want to go with the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra over its smaller sibling. Granted, some will advocate moving to an entirely different brand in response, but as anyone who ever used an S Pen can attest, giving up on a high-end digital notepad isn’t as easy as it sounds, and Samsung is still the only smartphone manufacturer that not only understands that sentiment, but is willing to bet a lot of R&D cash on it every single year.

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