Demand Is Greatly Outstripping Supply For Both Samsung Galaxy S6 And S6 Edge
Samsung's mobile boss J.K. Shin can breath a sigh of relief, exhale, wipe his forehead and exclaim 'Phew!', pat himself on the back, and anything else he wants to do in celebration of turning around the South Korean handset maker's stale Galaxy smartphone line. After all, it was just months ago that several of his colleagues were asked to exit stage left by management who had been bitten by the restructuring bug. And now? Following a significant redesign of Samsung's flagship phone, the company is having trouble keeping up with demand.
It was a week ago that Mr. Shin warned of a short-term shortage of the Galaxy S6 Edge, an intriguing handset because of its curved display that wraps around both edges of the phone. And now Shin is saying that demand for both new phones is "much higher" than Samsung anticipated. From a production standpoint, Samsung planned for fewer models than demand calls for.
"Although there may be some difficulties for the short term, we will do our utmost to secure enough supply for our global consumers," Samsung told Reuters.
How many handsets does that translate into? Samsung is keeping that information close to its chest, though we've seen a few figures thrown out by analysts. In early March, it was reported that Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge pre-orders topped 20 million units. Later that month, DRAMeXchange estimated that combined sales of Samsung's flagship phones would reach 55 million units by the end of the year.
The design of Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge is a departure from previous Galaxy phones. Whereas previous handsets used copious plastic, the new models sport a premium look and feel due to their metal and glass construction. Some amenities had to be sacrificed, such as a removable battery and expandable storage, but Samsung's decision to focus on form over function has proved popular among consumers.
It was a week ago that Mr. Shin warned of a short-term shortage of the Galaxy S6 Edge, an intriguing handset because of its curved display that wraps around both edges of the phone. And now Shin is saying that demand for both new phones is "much higher" than Samsung anticipated. From a production standpoint, Samsung planned for fewer models than demand calls for.
"Although there may be some difficulties for the short term, we will do our utmost to secure enough supply for our global consumers," Samsung told Reuters.
How many handsets does that translate into? Samsung is keeping that information close to its chest, though we've seen a few figures thrown out by analysts. In early March, it was reported that Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge pre-orders topped 20 million units. Later that month, DRAMeXchange estimated that combined sales of Samsung's flagship phones would reach 55 million units by the end of the year.
The design of Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge is a departure from previous Galaxy phones. Whereas previous handsets used copious plastic, the new models sport a premium look and feel due to their metal and glass construction. Some amenities had to be sacrificed, such as a removable battery and expandable storage, but Samsung's decision to focus on form over function has proved popular among consumers.
