Samsung apparently faced disgruntled shareholders at its annual general meeting, with investors displeased about issues including slowing growth and the lack of new growth drivers.

The news came as Reuters separately reported that the South Korean giant had seen stronger pre-orders for its latest Galaxy S7-series flagship devices than for its predecessors. Sales began this week in some markets.

According to Financial Times (FT), the AGM ran for more than three hours – compared with one hour as a norm – as investors noted weaknesses such as a perceived reliance on smartphones and the company’s focus on the cut-throat hardware business.

While the company is looking to bolster its services proposition through Samsung Pay, this is still a fledgling business. And on the hardware side, its moves into VR and wearables are unlikely to have a material impact on its business in the short term.

Samsung is also reported to have made some moves to appease shareholder concerns over governance, although investors still made votes against some board reappointments (including mobile chief Shin Jong-kyun).

Shin has already been shifted into a more strategic role overseeing the mobile business.

For the first time, the company has also paved the way for an external director to chair its board.

And the independence of outside directors was also questioned.

“The good old days are over. The AGM will no longer proceed according to Samsung’s scenario. Shareholders, unhappy with the company’s performance, will no longer put up with governance problems,” Kim Sang-jo, economics professor at Hansung University, said, according to FT.

Samsung has already said that it expects to see “softening demand and intensifying competition” in the devices market in 2016, which is something of a double-whammy for the company: in addition to its own smartphone business, its components unit is also impacted by the performance of this sector.