Samsung to begin Galaxy S8 production in March
Fig. 2 - WW Smartphone (Unit) Share - Source: Trendforce While Samsung is expected to announce its new flagship smartphone, tentatively titled the Galaxy S8s, at Mobile World Congress on February 27th, the company is being careful about rushing production after the disastrous Note 7 recall. The Samsung component supply chain has begun to receive orders for the new phone, with initial deliveries beginning in February, with mass production scheduled for March, and release in April. This differs from Samsung’s usual schedule, which anticipates the release date and has the product available for distribution upon the announcement, which helps to maintain customer enthusiasm. While Samsung’s conservatism is likely based on a more careful approach to product testing, it could cause pre-orders to be a bit lower than usual, given the longer wait time to delivery.
Initial production is expected to be 10m units during the March/April build, which is the same as the previous Galaxy S7, and while Samsung expects the new model to be superior in performance and design (when don’t they…), and will sport a number of additional features (bezel-less screen, multiple security functions, etc), the new phone will be extremely closely watched by consumer groups to make sure there will not be a repeat of the Note 7 troubles. At least through 3Q, Samsung maintains a substantial leadership in the global smartphone market on a unit basis, so the necessity for a ‘clean’ release is likely the highest its has ever been, particularly in light of Apple’s 10th anniversary iPhone release later this year and intense competition from Chinese vendors, so Samsung must balance the need for strong initial sales against a more cautious plan that reassures consumers about Samsung’s smartphone reliability.
Initial production is expected to be 10m units during the March/April build, which is the same as the previous Galaxy S7, and while Samsung expects the new model to be superior in performance and design (when don’t they…), and will sport a number of additional features (bezel-less screen, multiple security functions, etc), the new phone will be extremely closely watched by consumer groups to make sure there will not be a repeat of the Note 7 troubles. At least through 3Q, Samsung maintains a substantial leadership in the global smartphone market on a unit basis, so the necessity for a ‘clean’ release is likely the highest its has ever been, particularly in light of Apple’s 10th anniversary iPhone release later this year and intense competition from Chinese vendors, so Samsung must balance the need for strong initial sales against a more cautious plan that reassures consumers about Samsung’s smartphone reliability.
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