Galaxy S9 pre-orders are reportedly below expectations

[midian182]

At the Galaxy S9 event, it appeared that Samsung had taken inspiration from Apple with its AR Emoji, which are pretty similar to the iPhone X’s Animoji. It now seems that the S9 is mimicking Apple’s flagship in another area: lower than expected pre-orders.

According to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, pre-orders for the Galaxy S9 are “about the same or slightly lower” than those for the Galaxy S8.

"We believe that the preorders for the Galaxy S9 are similar to that of the Galaxy S8," a Samsung official said.

Even if the report is accurate, it still doesn’t mean the phone is a failure. But the handsets were expected to outperform their S8 predecessors, which had the highest number of pre-orders—550,000 units in two days—since Samsung started the program in 2013.

Samsung claims the figures could be lower for the S9s because the company started receiving pre-orders for the phones just two days after their unveiling in Barcelona; with the S8/S8+, there was an eight-day gap. However, one employee from a local mobile carrier places the blame on the phones' lack of upgrades compared to last year’s model.

"Customers may be finding the Galaxy S9 not much different from other smartphones," they said. "The popularity and customers' interest are not as high compared to the previous model."

Analyst Jeff Johnston from boutique firm Arthur Wood Research (via Barron’s) also believes that the S9/S9+ are disappointing Samsung. He writes that they are “significantly underperforming pre-launch expectations of 10% to 15% growth,” and are “down ~50% over GS8.”

Samsung hasn’t given out any official figures and it still expects the S9 to sell more than the S8—pre-orders could rise quickly in the run-up to the handsets’ March 16 launch date. But lessening interest appears to be affecting the entire smartphone market, which saw its first YoY sales decline in Q4.

With incremental improvements over previous models and ever-increasing prices, fewer people are rushing out to upgrade to the latest models. Hopefully, the industry will take heed and come up with more innovative designs and cheaper handsets with killer features.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/73600-galaxy-s9-pre-orders-reportedly-below-expectations.html

 

[gigantor21]

Not particularly surprising. I just got an S8+ last year; the new camera on the S9 is the only real standout feature, and that isn't nearly enough to justify an upgrade for me. I expect to be similarly underwhelmed with the Note 9 later in the year.

At this point, I really can't think of what new features they can add to these phones to get me to upgrade anytime soon, given what they're charging for them.

 

[Dimensive]

Here's the thing, does your old phone still work without a hitch? Does it still do all that you need it for? If the answer is yes to both questions, you don't need a new phone! My last phone was a LG G2 then I bought a LG G3 for $120 last year. Why? Because buying a $700+ phone is ridiculous and even being the geek that I am, I don't need a super high-end phone...it's a phone. I'm not looking to play the latest AAA games on the go, I need something that runs Chrome, Google Maps, lets me call people, and lets me text people. Why people chase insanely overpriced, high-end phones is beyond my comprehension.

 

[Nobina]

New phones don't offer anything groundbreaking so there's no reason to upgrade. Instead they have gimmicks like ways to unlock a phone, notches and all kinds of useless ****. Maybe people who play games on their phone (why?) need newest phones cause of that small CPU upgrade and ofcourse people who buy status and show off to compensate.

 

[Julio Franco]

Not particularly surprising. I just got an S8+ last year; the new camera on the S9 is the only real standout feature, and that isn't nearly enough to justify an upgrade for me.

This.

 

[Kibaruk]

Not particularly surprising. I just got an S8+ last year; the new camera on the S9 is the only real standout feature, and that isn't nearly enough to justify an upgrade for me.

Well I currently have an S6 so the S9 will be a good update, my S6 is getting clunky although I believe it's battery issues more than anything, it's been 2 years and the only way to last the day is by having power saving mode.

If I had to pay the upgrade (Which I'm not), I would probably switch to the S8 as it is $0 for me on a 2 year contract.

I do like taking pictures and the best camera is the one you have with you, so I'm excited about the camera.

 

[Capaill]

When my LG G4 stopped working in December I bought a cheap Huawei phone as a stopgap until I could research a more expensive replacement. But I have found that I'm perfectly happy with this phone (P8 Lite 2017) which I got for 130 euro and see no need to replace it. I don't play games on the phone and rarely use the camera and it's perfectly good for all other uses with good battery life as it's only 1080p. I have always been hesitant of trying the Chinese phones but this has been a revelation and I'd definitely look at other Chinese phones in future.

 

[gusticles41]

Back when it was the norm to pay $200 for a phone while being tied to a 2yr contract, buying a top-tier flagship was easy to justify. Now with monthly device payments over $30/mo, or buying outright for $900+, can we be surprised smartphone sales are declining? Every week there's a new phone released...

These things were originally designed to last us 2+ years, easy. Now they want you to break it in a few months and throw another one on your device payment plan because it's not worth repairing a $900 phone. Eff that.

 

[MoeJoe]

Marginal improvement vs. the same high price at introduction = why bother?

 

[Greg S]

When the S8 is now $300 cheaper than the S9 new in the box, there is no reason for me to even consider the S9. It's not $300 better than an S8. These prices are too high right now. $600 for flagships a few years ago felt high but people were willing to pay it. Now at $800+ the line has been crossed.

 

[Karlos95]

When the S8 is now $300 cheaper than the S9 new in the box, there is no reason for me to even consider the S9. It's not $300 better than an S8. These prices are too high right now. $600 for flagships a few years ago felt high but people were willing to pay it. Now at $800+ the line has been crossed.

In Australia they are over $1000.
Just no...
Maybe once every 2 - 5 years I'll pay that much on a phone. Not every year.
Seems like these big time phone manufacturers are taking a play out of CoD books. Mild improvements for ludicrous prices every single year.

 

[Ladylove775]

I have the S8+ and was considering the S9+ because I own the S8+ bought it directly from Samsung unlock and plus had a trade and school discount which made my price very low I would never pay full price for no phone just like now if I go ahead and get this phone I only pay $480.34 out door unlock with the trade of the S8+ which I get $350.00 for it and my school discount, so that is the only reason I would do it but never to pay full price, my family we all own our phones no leases or nothing so yes its not worth upgrading if you have to pay full price for the phone.

 

[infiltrator]

Two things that I liked in the s7's and dislike on the s8's and S9's

1) Bring back the flat screen design, I really hate curved/edged screen on phones.
2) Bring back the physical home button, I really hate the touch home button (horrible idea).

Now this is more of a hardware specification than looks or feels. But on the s5's, the rear facing camera came with 18Megapixels, why drop to 12Megapixels?

I was hoping that, Samsung would do a better job with the s9. But I am a little disappointed.

 

[gusticles41]

1) Bring back the flat screen design, I really hate curved/edged screen on phones.
2) Bring back the physical home button, I really hate the touch home button (horrible idea).

Agreed on the screens. This weekend I quoted my buddy for a screen replacement on his S7 Edge. Cheapest screen I could find, from China, was $160+ parts only. Unreal.

I also prefer a physical home button, but have had 2 wear out on my past s5 and Note 5. They both required an annoying amount of force to register. Hate to say it, but I like the iPhone 7 and up home buttons quite a bit.