Samsung Galaxy S Series – Pre-sales Up in Korea
While we note that gauging the success of Samsung’s (005930.KS) just announced Galaxy S23 flagship smartphone series in South Korea is a datapoint that might not translate globally, it does give some color as to the potential success of the series going forward, at least on a relative basis. Samsung announced the new series on February 1, with three models, the Galaxy S23 Ultra, the Galaxy S23+, and the Galaxy S23 in order of price and feature set, with the three South Korean carriers able to take pre-orders for delivery beginning on the 17th, with Samsung announcing this morning that as of the 14th, pre-orders amounted to 1.09m units, above last year’s record of 1.01m units.
Of the three models, the S23 Ultra garnered ~60% of the pre-orders, the more generic S23 ~23% and the S23+ ~17%, with the fact that the Ultra has a 200 MP main camera (plus 4 others) and a 6.8” display, while the plus has a 6.6” display and a 50 MP camera (plus 3 others), while the S23 has a 6.1” display and also a 50 MP camera (plus 3 others). With a difference of $200 between the Ultra and the plus, it seems most early buyers are willing to fork up the extra cash for the high-resolution camera, although there are many discounts and promotions being offered that can lower the price, particularly with trade-ins, new carrier accounts or when using carrier credit cards for purchase.
In recent years Samsung has had difficulty maintaining robust flagship smartphone sales, and the elimination of the Galaxy Note series in lieu of folding models was an indication that the company recognized a need to refresh the premium side of its smartphone offerings. Breathing life into smartphones that have changed relatively little over the last few years was not an easy task, and the economic weakness being experienced on a global scale in 2022 did little to help, but Samsung continues to dominate the foldable smartphone market, and maintains a significant manufacturing lead over other OLED panel producers.
That said, it will take time for Samsung’s foldable smartphone line to gain enough end user acceptance to generate consumer momentum toward the smartphone market, along with the potential for Apple (AAPL) to join the foldable market in a year or so, but Samsung does have he ability to stretch in terms of form factors, as we have noted in the past, and we expect a third foldable model to appear this year or b next, although it might be considered more of a tablet than a smartphone. Either way, if it is practical and generates consumer excitement, it will help to offset the mid and low-tier competition Samsung faces from Chinese brands, where Samsung has less of an advantage.
Of the three models, the S23 Ultra garnered ~60% of the pre-orders, the more generic S23 ~23% and the S23+ ~17%, with the fact that the Ultra has a 200 MP main camera (plus 4 others) and a 6.8” display, while the plus has a 6.6” display and a 50 MP camera (plus 3 others), while the S23 has a 6.1” display and also a 50 MP camera (plus 3 others). With a difference of $200 between the Ultra and the plus, it seems most early buyers are willing to fork up the extra cash for the high-resolution camera, although there are many discounts and promotions being offered that can lower the price, particularly with trade-ins, new carrier accounts or when using carrier credit cards for purchase.
In recent years Samsung has had difficulty maintaining robust flagship smartphone sales, and the elimination of the Galaxy Note series in lieu of folding models was an indication that the company recognized a need to refresh the premium side of its smartphone offerings. Breathing life into smartphones that have changed relatively little over the last few years was not an easy task, and the economic weakness being experienced on a global scale in 2022 did little to help, but Samsung continues to dominate the foldable smartphone market, and maintains a significant manufacturing lead over other OLED panel producers.
That said, it will take time for Samsung’s foldable smartphone line to gain enough end user acceptance to generate consumer momentum toward the smartphone market, along with the potential for Apple (AAPL) to join the foldable market in a year or so, but Samsung does have he ability to stretch in terms of form factors, as we have noted in the past, and we expect a third foldable model to appear this year or b next, although it might be considered more of a tablet than a smartphone. Either way, if it is practical and generates consumer excitement, it will help to offset the mid and low-tier competition Samsung faces from Chinese brands, where Samsung has less of an advantage.
RSS Feed