Samsung ‘confirms’ 22m pre-orders of iPhone 6-killers Galaxy S6, S6 Edge

“We’re hungry…. We want to see more market share,” a senior Samsung official told this website on the sidelines of the launch of the new Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge in Dubai as part of the Galaxy S6 World Tour.

Samsung’s got to be hungry. For, as we reported earlier this year, the South Korean electronics major has had its lunch stolen by Apple at the higher-end of the smartphone market, from Huawei in the middle-tiers, and from Xiaomi and others at the entry-level.

Read: How Apple, Huawei and Xiaomi stole Samsung's lunch

Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have had a fantastic six-month-or-so almost unchecked run, stealing Samsung’s global market share, which dropped from 30 per cent in Q4 2013 to 20 per cent in Q4 2014.

And while the huge success of Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus was part of the reason why the Cupertino-based technology giant managed to wrest the smartphones leadership crown from Samsung, the South Korean firm’s own lacklustre spearhead Galaxy S5 too was responsible for a slowdown in sales.

But with the launch of the striking new Galaxy S6 and its double-edged iteration, the Galaxy S6 Edge, Samsung is ready to steal its lunch – and perhaps more – from Apple and other rivals.

“We’re hungry… We want to see more market share… We want to grow more, and we’re delivering the right product – that should give us that [growth],” Hayssam Yassine, Head of Telecommunications Group, Samsung Gulf Electronics, told Emirates 24|7.

And if analyst sales forecasts of 55 million S6/S6 Edge units in 2015 are correct, Samsung is on track to do just that. Yassine on Tuesday essentially confirmed the 22 million pre-orders that the South Korean firm is rumoured to have received for its new Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge devices.

Samsung’s shipments of its new flagship models – the Galaxy S6/S6 Edge – in the second quarter of 2015 will be higher than the original forecast with 5 million units added, making the total quarterly shipments to 22.2 million, according to a recent report by Avril Wu, global smartphone analyst for TrendForce.

The report maintains Samsung is now forecasted to sell 55m units of the S6/S6 Edge in 2015 (22.2m units in Q2, 16.2m in Q3 and 12.5m in Q4), surpassing the original estimate by 20 per cent.

“Globally, nothing has been announced yet, and I cannot disclose this information,” Yassine said to Emirates 24|7.

“There have been media reports talking about some numbers but I cannot comment on them,” he said when we asked him about reports in Korea Times earlier this month that claimed that Samsung had received 15m pre-orders for the Galaxy S6 and 5m for the Galaxy S6 Edge within 10 days of the launch of the new devices.

When pushed further to comment on whether he thought these were reasonable estimates or way off the mark, Yassine finally relented and said: “I think this was good estimation.”

If indeed that estimate of 55m S6 and S6 Edge units holds good, Samsung will likely wrest the smartphones market leadership slot back from rival Apple, to whom it lost major ground towards the fag end of last year. The South Korean firm led smartphones shipments for three years, from Q4 2011 until Q4 2014.

Ask Yassine about the lost ground to Apple, and he is quick to cite statistics from the UAE, where Samsung continues to dominate, he insists.

“Let me share with you the UAE’s January numbers,” he said. “So far, our share has been within the average band,” he said. “In terms of smartphones, we have a 44 per cent share of the UAE market,” he said.

“We don’t have one or two devices – we have a range of devices,” said Yassine. “We’re still in that dominant position – and with the addition of these two new devices, this will go to new levels,” he said.

Regionally, he said that the response has been “very, very, very positive” in terms of pre-bookings. “We’ve launched the pre-booking campaign here and consumers have been showing great willingness and commitment in paying the pre-booking amount,” he said.

“So far we have allocated a certain quantity where loyal Samsung customers who pre-book the devices will get a free wireless charger worth Dh200. The take-off has been really fast, and we are very delighted with the numbers,” he added.

Samsung seems to have left not smartphone material unexplored to alter that ‘plasticky’ image in customers’ minds to regain lost share. “Samsung has managed to shake off the disappointment of Galaxy S4 and S5’s lagging sales with the unveiling of the twin flagship models Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge,” said Wu of TrendForce.

“Samsung is always in continuous learning,” added Yassine. “The witnessed a shift in the consumer’s mind-set – we have our own and third-party research to gauge that shift – we realised that people want something really new. This is one of the major drives behind Samsung coming up with the S6,” he explained to this website.

“The design philosophy, new material, simplified user experience and interface, the wireless charger, etc. – all these new features address specific consumer needs,” he said.

Yassine cites Samsung’s nimbleness and fast adaption as one of its major strengths. “We adapt and change almost immediately – faster than any other company can do,” he said.

“S6 Edge especially captured the spotlight with its special curved screen that sweeps down on both sides of the phone. The new models are also improvements over their predecessor, Galaxy S5, in component specs,” Wu of TrendForce wrote in his report.

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