The laptop market is not what it used to be, thanks to tablets mostly, which have become the on-the-go choice for many users. Earlier this year, Sony sold off its Vaio business, and now, it appears Samsung is following the footsteps of the Japanese maker.
Samsung had decided to exit the laptop market in Europe — this also includes Chromebooks. Samsung is apparently focusing more on the smartphone side, with no Windows-based laptops announced at the recent IFA trade show. It’s definitely a disappointing news for Samsung fans, but it could be due to the decline in the market, as well as the competition in the category.
“We quickly adapt to market needs and demands. In Europe, we will be discontinuing sales of laptops including Chromebooks for now. This is specific to the region – and is not necessarily reflective of conditions in other markets,” said a Samsung spokesperson. “We will continue to thoroughly evaluate market conditions and will make further adjustments to maintain our competitiveness in emerging PC categories.”
It’s worth mentioning that the closure is just for Europe for now. Samsung may keep on selling its devices in other parts of the world. As with every other closure, job cuts are imminent, but there’s no word if this has resulted in any. When Sony closed it’s Vaio division, almost 5,000 employees lost their job, but we’re hoping a similar case is not witnessed with Samsung.
We’ll update you if more information comes up.
Image via Joe C (Flickr)
