December 04, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics said on Aug. 13 the newly introduced Galaxy Note 9 is expected to beat the predecessor in terms of sales and claimed the sales of the Galaxy S9 released earlier this year were not weak as suggested by the industry watchers.

Samsung showcased the Galaxy Note 9 smartphone last week, which is its latest flagship equipped with a 4,000 mAh battery and Bluetooth-powered stylus. The top end version comes with a whopping 512 GB storage capacity.

The Korean tech giant saw its second-quarter operating profit for the IT and mobile business reach 2.67 trillion won (US$2.36 billion), down 34 percent from a year earlier. Industry watchers attributed the weak performance to lackluster sales of the Galaxy S9.

“When we look at the trend of the Galaxy S9 sales, the figure has been increasing, and in some regions, the performance even outpaced the Galaxy S8,” Samsung Electronics President Koh Dong-jin said.

“The Galaxy S8 was released in April last year, and the Galaxy S9 went on sales in March. When we look at the first six months, sales rather increased by 6 percent,” Koh said. “It is not too late to make a judgment (on the Galaxy S9) at the end of the year.”

Koh added the Galaxy Note 9 will sell better than the Galaxy Note 8 as well on the back of its top-notch specifications, including the improved stylus.

“The Galaxy Note 9 boasts the very best performance with the specialized S-pen, as well as the intelligent camera. We hope the sales (of the new device) will outpace the Galaxy Note 8,” Koh said.

The head of Samsung’s mobile business also said engineers are confident in the safety of the 4,000 mAh battery in the Galaxy Note 9. The production of the Galaxy Note 7 was earlier suspended due to reports of batteries catching fire.

“The battery in the Galaxy Note 9 is safer than ever. Users do not have to worry about the batteries anymore,” Koh said.

Koh also said the stylus pen of the Galaxy Note smartphones will continue to evolve further down the road.

As for the competition in the global market, he said it will continue to release mid-range smartphones to solidify its leadership.

“In India, Xiamoi became the No. 1 player in the fourth quarter last year in terms of units sold. But revenue is also important. In terms of sales, Samsung is the leading player in India. Samsung also outpaced Xiaomi in the market in terms of shipment volume in the second quarter as well,” Koh said. 

“In terms of its size, China is a market we cannot give up,” he said.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)