The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 2013–2017
Samsung Galaxy NX: the $1,600 Android camera nobody bought
Samsung's 2013 Galaxy NX strapped Android 4.2 onto a mirrorless body at $1,599 — a hybrid that failed to sell, and the whole NX line ended in 2017.
Samsung Electronics · 2013-06-20
What happened
In June 2013 Samsung announced the Galaxy NX, a 20.3-megapixel APS-C mirrorless camera that ran Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and carried a 4.8-inch touchscreen, cellular LTE and a full app store — an attempt to fuse a prosumer camera with a smartphone. It arrived in October 2013 priced at $1,599 for the body alone and $1,699 with an 18-55mm lens.
The Galaxy NX fell between two stools. Serious photographers wanted a proper camera and balked at a phone operating system and a $1,600 price tag, while smartphone users saw a heavy, expensive machine that did nothing a phone and a cheap interchangeable-lens camera could not. The Android integration that was meant to be the differentiator came across as a gimmick.
Samsung never disclosed sales figures, and the NX line limped on for years without winning the interchangeable-lens market it had entered late against Canon, Nikon and Sony. In 2017 Samsung discontinued the Galaxy NX and the whole NX series and effectively exited standalone digital cameras, leaving its mirrorless owners with a dead lens mount.
Why it happened
- Samsung priced the Galaxy NX at premium full-frame territory ($1,599) while its Android OS was the selling point — it impressed reviewers, not buyers.
- Samsung entered the interchangeable-lens camera market late with a hybrid that served neither the enthusiast looking for a camera nor the consumer looking for a phone, so it won neither audience.
- Samsung treated Android itself as the reason to buy, but once the novelty wore off the camera's actual value was a gimmick overlay on a crowded, mature category.
The lesson
A premium price buys forgiveness only when the product is the best. Samsung's Galaxy NX charged flagship money for an Android OS, and was beaten on price by phones and on quality by cameras.
Aftermath
Samsung discontinued the Galaxy NX and the entire NX lens series in 2017 and effectively withdrew from standalone digital cameras. Users of the NX mount were left with a discontinued system, and Samsung concentrated imaging effort on its phones and TVs.
Sources
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