Huge pre-order numbers mean Samsung can taste success with the Galaxy Note 7

Source: Digital Trends:

August 9, 2016 at 09:56

Samsung certainly wants to make sure those with at least $850 to spend on a smartphone don’t wait around to see what Apple reveals in the near future, and it appears to be working.

The Galaxy Note 7, Samsung’s latest smartphone, is apparently well on its way towards success. Pre-orders in South Korea began on August 6 through the three major networks — SK Telecom, LG Uplus, and KT Telecom — and according to a local report, 200,000 people rushed out to secure one for themselves in just two days.

Quoting industry data, rather than Samsung itself, the report says this is twice the number who pre-ordered the Galaxy S7 over the same period earlier this year, and is the highest recorded for a Galaxy smartphone. This bodes well for the Note 7. The Galaxy S7 Edge is currently the most popular Android phone in the world, according to Strategy Analytics, with more than 13 million already sold. The Galaxy S7 is close behind with nearly 12 million. According to Neil Mawston, Executive Director at the company, the S7 Edge’s popularity is at least partly due to, “its attractive curved hardware design blended with a sidebar of apps that consumers find easy to use.”

Sound familiar? The Galaxy Note 7 is at its heart a Galaxy S7 Edge with a stylus, with the added bonus of cutting edge security features. Anyone tempted by a Galaxy S7 Edge will be looking at a Note 7 as well. Mawston told Digital Trends in an email, “We forecast Samsung to ship 15 million Galaxy Note 7 units worldwide in the second half of 2016. We expect the Note 7 to be one of the world’s top-five best-selling smartphones in the second half of this year.”

Samsung’s doing its very best to attract people to the big-screen phone in South Korea, offering local buyers a free Gear Fit 2 fitness tracker with each order, and a promise that if the phone’s screen gets broken, it’ll stump up half the cost to get it repaired. Additionally, each Note 7 owner gets a gift card for use in Samsung’s local online store. Pre-orders have also started in the U.S., while networks and retailers in the U.K. will begin taking orders from August 16. Samsung in the U.S. is giving you the choice of a free Gear Fit 2 or a massive 256GB MicroSD card if you order the Galaxy Note 7, while in the U.K., the new style Gear VR headset will come with the phone, if you’re quick.

Samsung certainly wants to make sure those with at least $850 to spend on a smartphone don’t wait around to see what Apple reveals in the near future, and it appears to be working.