Samsung yesterday announced its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4, has sold more than 10 million units, less than one month after its commercial release.
The S4 went on sale globally on 27 April and Samsung says the phone is estimated to be selling at a rate of four units per second.
"The Galaxy S4 sets a new record for Samsung, generating sales quicker than any of its predecessors. Sales of the Galaxy S3 reached the 10 million mark 50 days after its launch in 2012, while the Galaxy S2 took five months, and the Galaxy S seven months to reach the same milestone," says Samsung.
Responding to news of the 10 million sales mark, JK Shin, CEO and president of the IT and mobile communications division at Samsung Electronics, said the manufacturer would continue to pursue innovation inspired by and for people.
The S4, dubbed the life companion, was one of the most anticipated smartphone releases in the industry, and brought with it new features that assist with travelling and fitness, as well as giving users control over actions with hand and face gestures.
Samsung also announced it plans to introduce more colour variations for the S4. Blue Arctic, Red Aurora, Purple Mirage and Brown Autumn will be added to the currently available White Mist and Black Forest.
Strength to strength
World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says the S4 is building on the successes Samsung achieved with the S2 and S3. "Until the S2 came along, Samsung's top-selling phones were feature phones. The E250, which costs just R400, was one of its bestselling phones of all time. With the S2, Samsung started competing in the smartphone arena for the first time."
He adds that the S2 was Samsung's first smartphone to overtake sales of a single model of one of its feature phones. "And for the S4 to overtake the S3, shows a definite upward trajectory."
Goldstuck says there is no question that the S4 has positioned itself at the top of the smartphone food chain. "The S4 is seen as the ultimate smartphone to have, and we can expect to see it becoming one of the bestselling premium smartphones yet in SA."
He says critics of the S4 like to dismiss its features as being gimmicky and too similar to the S3. "But I think that's based on the opinion of people who aren't actually using the device. Users of the S4 become the biggest marketers for the device, because they keep on discovering and want to share it with everyone else."
Goldstuck says there should be no need to worry that retailers could run out of S4 stock. "Samsung has put in a lot of effort to ensure that its supply chain is in order. Every manufacturer learned from Apple that the supply chain is a critical component of sales. In fact, where Apple sales have faltered is often as a result of a supply chain bottleneck."
He adds there has been a rising curve in demand from the S2 to the S3, and now the S4. "So Samsung should have a fairly good demand forecast, but if there are shortages they will probably be resolved quickly."
Meanwhile, executive head of communications at Cell C, Karin Fourie, says the operator is waiting for new stock to keep up with demand. "Cell C has seen incredible demand for the Samsung Galaxy S4, and has already signed up thousands of new and upgrading customers on S4 contracts."
Executive head of corporate communications at Vodacom, Richard Boorman, says the S4 is proving to be a popular device with its customers. "We are getting new stock of the S4 on a regular basis."
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