Untethered In-Store Phone Trial Experience

The problem

Samsung needed a way to provide untethered device experience to visitors in its flagship locations.

The solution

In 2014 I noticed that Samsung Retail suffered from major disadvantages in how it is presenting its mobile phones in stores. While Apple had slick, thin wired security cable securing its phones, Samsung had bulky, heavy, unappealing security mechanisms that really hurt customers’ ability to experience the phone. I came up with an idea to develop a privileged mobile application that runs in the background of these display phones and constantly measure the proximity to a beacon hidden in the fixture. When the app detects that the phone is moving too far away from the fixture it would first alert the customer to go back, alert store staff, sound alarm, and if the phone hadn’t been returned then brick it. The result was the first cordless device trial experience. Apple Retail launched a similar capability a while after we have shipped the first version.