Samsung's "Heart of the World" Suffers a Chill: Why Does the W25 Struggle Against the Huawei MateXT?

Samsung's "Heart of the World" Suffers a Chill: Why Does the W25 Struggle Against the Huawei MateXT?Recently, I took two 9-hour intercontinental flights. Usually, two movies on a long-haul flight are over in a blink of an eye, and the cramped seating space doesn't allow me to unfold my iPad

Samsung's "Heart of the World" Suffers a Chill: Why Does the W25 Struggle Against the Huawei MateXT?

Recently, I took two 9-hour intercontinental flights. Usually, two movies on a long-haul flight are over in a blink of an eye, and the cramped seating space doesn't allow me to unfold my iPad. With no other choice, I had to pull out my phone to read the ebook I had downloaded. At 30,000 feet in the air, I once again had the urge to "buy a foldable phone". Because Samsung phones can flash both mainland China and Hong Kong versions of the system, allowing for "native" access to full DRM video certification, the cheaper refurbished Fold6 became my top choice. But just as I was hesitating about whether to place an order, a completely new model came into my field of vision that I had never heard of before the Galaxy Fold6SE.

Image source: Samsung

Honestly, when my colleague first mentioned this model to me, I thought it was a "youth version" built with clearance parts, but upon closer inspection, this "SE" had not only higher specs but also a more premium material design, completely different from the previous "FE" youth versions. But strangely, this phone, only sold in China and South Korea, had no news in China before. A quick search revealed why the Fold6SE didn't have any news in China. After all, this phone has a more resounding name in China Samsung "Heart of the World" W25.

Image source: Samsung

A High-End Business Phone with "Patriotic Sentiment"

Considering Samsung's declining influence in China in recent years, I believe it's necessary to introduce you to the kind of "big picture" a phone needs to have to be called "Heart of the World":

In 2008, China Telecom bought the CDMA network from China Unicom and needed a new, high-end, powerful product line to make its mobile network brand a household name. Meanwhile, Samsung, which had been in the Chinese market for many years but still couldn't defeat mobile giant Nokia, also hoped to use a high-end phone to break into the Chinese market and boost its brand influence. Thus, the two parties hit it off and jointly launched the "Heart of the World" series of phones, aiming to combine Samsung's advanced technology with China Telecom's high-quality service to provide a unique mobile communication experience for high-end users and lay the foundation for China Telecom to promote its CDMA network.

Image source: Samsung

China Telecom and Samsung collaborated to launch the first "Heart of the World" phone, the Samsung W699, a clamshell phone with dual touch screens, which became a pioneering work in the super high-end phone sector. The following year, the "Heart of the World" project raised the banner of public welfare, embarking on its 15-year public welfare journey; simultaneously, "W" became the exclusive code for "Heart of the World". Throughout the history of the W series, from the pioneering work W699 to the first 4G smart key phone W2015, and the foldable era's W20, the W's positioning has always been the "ultimate summary" of Samsung's flagship technology at that time.

Of course, the "flagship configuration" only created an ordinary flagship phone; what really supports the "Heart of the World" 's astonishing price is its exclusive rights in after-sales service. In Samsung's view, you can't let a "social elite" waste time dealing with trivial phone issues, so when purchasing the product, the official also offers a certain level of butler concierge service, which can quickly handle any problems encountered during the use of the phone.

Image source: Samsung

But what truly embodies the "Heart of the World" is the public welfare activities behind the W series. For many years, the W series has been collaborating with several domestic public welfare groups to provide donations to the fields of education, environmental protection, and more. It is precisely this kind of "Heart of the World" 's social contribution that has made the "Heart of the World" series a "token of value recognition" among Chinese entrepreneurs for a long time.

However, in recent years, the number of consumers who are willing to listen to the story of "Heart of the World" seems to be dwindling.

Samsung's "Heart of the World" is Facing a Huge Dilemma

The smartphone market has been turbulent in recent years, and consumer needs and preferences are rapidly evolving. The rise of foldable screen technology has brought users a new experience and has also opened up a new competitive field for manufacturers. In this context, the "Heart of the World" series is facing unprecedented difficulties.

First, foldable screen technology has matured considerably, with almost all major mobile phone manufacturers entering this field, and Chinese brands such as Huawei, Xiaomi, and OPPO have successively launched their own foldable screen phones, making breakthroughs in technical innovation, user experience, and price positioning.

Image source: vivo

In contrast, the Galaxy Fold series only solved the problem of the gap between the folding screen hinges with the Fold5 the lagging technology has also challenged the "Heart of the World" series' leading position in the high-end market. It must face competition pressure from multiple parties.

Furthermore, Huawei's rise has also dealt a major blow to Samsung. In recent years, Huawei, with its powerful self-developed capabilities and deep understanding of the Chinese market, has changed the stereotype of the Mate series as "large-screen phones" and has made Mate Huawei's business flagship phone. The appearance of Huawei's MateX series of foldable screen phones has had a profound impact on the entire business phone category. For example, the newly released MateXT tri-fold phone has successfully broken out of the business phone category.

Image source: Huawei

Of course, the "Heart of the World" series' marketing strategy and channel disadvantages have further weakened its market influence: Huawei and other Chinese brands actively leverage online and offline channels, combined with social media and e-commerce platforms, to carry out comprehensive market promotion. The marketing approach of "Heart of the World" is very traditional, lacking interaction and communication with consumers, leading to a decline in brand recognition and affinity, also contributing to the current situation of the "Heart of the World" 's market being lukewarm.

What Kind of Samsung "Special Edition" Can Win Over Chinese Users?

Of course, Samsung knows its shortcomings. So in recent years, Samsung has been actively improving the competitiveness of its "special editions" and expanding its target market:

For example, in 2021, Samsung joined forces with Swarovski to launch a limited edition Galaxy ZFlip3; in 2022, Samsung collaborated with renowned international designer Alexander Wang to launch a limited edition Galaxy S22 series, using intricate materials and craftsmanship to significantly elevate the overall quality, while also enhancing the artistic value and high-end positioning of Samsung products. Even this year's "Heart of the World" W25, instead of just "recoloring" the Fold6 released six months ago, opted for the Fold6SE with its larger size and thinner body as the blueprint.

Image source: Lei Technology

Honestly, the fact that Samsung Electronics, in collaboration with China Telecom, has been able to launch the "Heart of the World" series of phones for so long, reaching its 17th generation, is enough to illustrate that the producers have accurately grasped the needs of their target users, providing the greatest support not only in terms of product experience, but also in terms of spiritual satisfaction. As long as Samsung's "Heart of the World" series of phones can still bring target users "luxury," "high-end," and other values that can showcase their status, I believe that this series of phones will still have a market.

But then again, the domestic luxury phone market has been decimated by Huawei in recent years. For the "Heart of the World" series, being able to stand its ground in the face of the onslaught of domestic phones relies on the user reputation and product appeal accumulated over the past 17 years, as well as China Telecom's mature sales channels and exclusive services, but also needs to find breakthroughs in technology for the Chinese market, such as better screens, more refined hinges, stronger imaging capabilities and AI services, and even more abundant hardware forms. To break through under the siege of MateXT, "Heart of the World" still needs to tap into more personalization and exclusive services, and only by allowing users to achieve greater spiritual satisfaction in terms of identity can "Heart of the World" be sustainable.