It has been 10 years since Samsung Knox was introduced at MWC 2013 in Barcelona. Knox is Samsung's enhanced security suite for its Android devices, fortifying security at both the hardware and the application layer. The following year, Knox got a big vote of confidence as it won certification from the UK government and the US Department of Defence, with the US government eventually approving Knox-enabled Galaxy devices for classified use.
This defense-grade security platform was later made the foundation of Samsung's enterprise solutions and services. Samsung expanded the benefits that Knox offered to business customers, enabling them to benefit from the advanced security for their business needs. Last year, Samsung introduced Knox Matrix, a multi-device security solution with enhanced security that uses blockchain technology to provide multi-layer matural monitoring for different connected devices.
The hardware and application layer protection offered by Samsung Knox is also available on many of the smartphones and tablets it sells to the public. The protection starts at the chip level where sensitive data is isolated from the rest of the device. This provides real-time protection for the data and the operating system, layers Samsung's other security features for Android, and ensures privacy for your apps and personal files.
Knox protects your device from the moment that you turn it on. There are no settings to configure or features to enable. As soon as you take your new Samsung device out of the box and power it up, Knox is there to protect you against hacking, data leaks, cyberattacks, and viruses. It's also what powers the Secure Folder feature on your device, a secure and encrypted enclave that isolates data from the rest of the device.
At a time when people are increasingly worried about the security of their data, it's a shame that Samsung Knox isn't hyped up as much as it should be in Samsung's marketing materials for its devices. It typically mentions Knox in passing when new devices are being introduced. This crucial security feature is rarely ever featured in Samsung's ads and other marketing materials. Why doesn't Samsung talk more about its unflinching resolve to provide the best security to its users?
There may even be an opportunity here for Samsung to hype up Knox at Google's expense. The company has never avoided poking fun at its rivals in ads. Apple has long been the biggest recipient of Samsung's snarky ads. Yet the company has established its privacy-focused credentials in recent years. We've seen Apple make a serious effort to convey all the benefits of its various security features to customers, positioning them as the reasons why people should buy iPhones and iPads over other devices.
While those credentials may make it difficult for Samsung to extract the maximum mileage for Knox, instead of targeting Apple, perhaps Samsung should hype up Knox at Google's expense. There's a general perception among the public that Google is hungry for data. All of its various products and services provide an unimaginable amount of data that Google uses to support its behemoth of an ad business.
That's not to say that there's some wrongdoing there or that users aren't signing up to share that data when they use its services. It's just the general perception that has built up over time and that can be leveraged to highlight how Knox makes Samsung's Android devices a comparatively safer and more privacy-oriented option compared to Google's Pixel series.
Since Samsung has a delicate relationship to manage with Google, it doesn't need to call out Google over this as relentlessly as it goes after Apple. It just needs to promote Knox more strategically, particularly during times when Google announces new Pixel hardware. Seeing as how Google just launched the Pixel Fold, which is probably the first true Galaxy Z Fold competitor and now makes the US a battleground for foladables, this would be the right time to remind people about the virtues of Samsung Knox.
