Why did Samsung stop making digital cameras, and will it ever resume?

Samsung made cameras that, at least in relation to other brands, were ahead of their time. It's been puzzling to me that it hasn't returned to the camera industry. If this never happens (for samsung making cameras) then would anyone predict that someone else, some other brand, might start another era during which cameras that are more or less ahead of their time and with somewhat advanced technology will perhaps continue?

SAMSUNG Nx1, NX Mini, NX200, Galaxy camera, etc.

It's like LG, which made some phones that were exceptionally good for photo and video (such as V20 and G# ThinQ series such as G7 ThinQ). From what I remember, HTC was particularly interesting of a brand for photo work also. I can remember those days when Samsung cameras and LG phones were still on sale. I really craved the technology, but by the time that I could afford them, the tech kind of "fizzled out".

https://www.flickr.com/photos/31391486@N04/

MacM545 wrote:

Samsung made cameras that, at least in relation to other brands, were ahead of their time. It's been puzzling to me that it hasn't returned to the camera industry. If this never happens (for samsung making cameras) then would anyone predict that someone else, some other brand, might start another era during which cameras that are more or less ahead of their time and with somewhat advanced technology will perhaps continue?

SAMSUNG Nx1, NX Mini, NX200, Galaxy camera, etc.

It's like LG, which made some phones that were exceptionally good for photo and video (such as V20 and G# ThinQ series such as G7 ThinQ). From what I remember, HTC was particularly interesting of a brand for photo work also. I can remember those days when Samsung cameras and LG phones were still on sale. I really craved the technology, but by the time that I could afford them, the tech kind of "fizzled out".

https://www.flickr.com/photos/31391486@N04/

I don't think they ever explained it, but this hints at smartphones: http://www.theinvestor.co.kr/view.php?ud=20170407000537

I believe camera sales have plateaued a bit, but that's still relatively small potatoes for a company like Samsung I expect, and they probably saw more profit elsewhere.

They did make some great cameras; I still use an NX mini.

I doubt camera users would adopt new tech. Look how long it took Nikon and Canon to realize mirrorless was the way to go forward. It's retro stuff, resistant to change. "Somewhat advanced" technology might be a rear screen as good as a decent cheap smartphone, or some internal storage, or easier transfer like say Apple's AirDrop. But I don't see that happening; the companies are struggling.

Epson, HP, Casio, Kyocera, Minolta, Sharp, Sanyo, Toshiba, Agfa and Kodak ( and probably a number of others) all made digital cameras ar some time and then exited the market.

They all came in when the market had huge growth potential and got out when it no longer made business sense to continue.  None have returned

I don't think that Samsung is going to be any different.

I watched them for a number of years. They started quite a ways back, first under K mount rebrands of Pentax bodies. They went mirrorless after that, but none of their bodies had any appeal to me until the NX1. If they had launched their series with a strong camera like Fuji did, they probably would still be around with a respectable user base. As it was, they delivered an excellent camera after most of the growth had gone out of the market.

it is all about revenue and growth.

A camera, a TV, a phone, or a laundry machine are just products with the sole purpose to make profits. Clever companies move on as soon as their projections indicate a segment is going down, so no... There won't be any Samsung dedicated cameras ever again.

I recall reading that Samsung had a CEO who was really into photography so he created a division for cameras. And they made some great products but sales weren’t great. When he stepped down the successor didn’t care about ILCs and “serious” photography and cared more for profit so that division was disbanded which left the staff to focus on cell cameras. And, no, it will never come back.