Samsung sees strong demand for Galaxy S8 and S8+ phones
13 Apr 2017
Samsung is seeing strong demand for its Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones, suggesting that the company's Galaxy Note7 fiasco has not dented the new models' appeal among customers.
According to the company's head of mobile DJ Koh, who spoke at a media event in South Korea on Thursday, pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ surpassed those for its predecessors, the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, which were launched in March last year.
According to the company, the number of pre-orders for the S8 and S8+ in home market South Korea, were over 728,000.
"The news about the S8 is very positive at this point, though we have to see how many of the pre-orders translate into sales," said Kiranjeet Kaur, research manager for client devices at IDC Asia Pacific. She added there was a pent up demand for a large screen Samsung phone after the Note7 was discontinued, and the S8 devices met that requirement.
The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are set to retail in the US and some other markets from 21 April. The new devices had been closely watched as it was the first major launch by the company after battery issues surfaced in Note7, an earlier flagship device, which forced the company to stop production of the smartphone in October and recall over 3 million units.
Meanwhile, Samsung has lined up a number of devices featuring multiple screens, according to reports.
The news comes from two news outlets from South Korea, which said the company was well on its way to developing ''Project Valley''.
The first prototype dual-screen device would be revealed later this year, according to ET News and The Investor, with between 2,000 and 3,000 units being produced.
It seemed, however, that the new devices would not reach the high street, but would rather serve as a test point for Samsung in its development of a smartphone with a folding screen.
The prototypes would be made from a pair of 5in OLED screens connected by hinge, which would allow the device to unfold to be read like a book.
