By Kang Seung-woo
Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S8's larger sibling -- the S8 Plus -- is expected to gain more attention than the standard model thanks to growing demand for wider displays, a report showed, Monday.
The Korean tech giant's latest flagship smartphone comes in two models: a standard-size model with a 5.8-inch display and a larger S8 Plus with a 6.2-inch screen.
Lee Jae-yoon, an analyst from Yuanta Securities, forecast in his report that the sales volume of Galaxy S8 smartphones for this year is expected to reach 50.4 million, with the S8 Plus taking up 27.1 million, or 53.9 percent of sales.
After unveiling the high-end phone in late March, Samsung received preorders for the handsets from April 7 to 17 and the S8 Plus model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of built-in storage sold out only five days after the company began accepting preorders.
According to industry watchers, the greater popularity for the S8 Plus model is attributable to the increasing number of people using smartphones for mobiles games and video content.
With large screens emerging as a selling point in new smartphones, the S8 has a bezel-less, edge-to-edge design with an unusual 18.5:9 display, considered essential by those watching videos or playing games.
Considering such a trend, LG Electronics also adopted a near all-screen strategy with its latest flagship phone, the G6, in February and Apple's new iPhone, expected to hit stores in September, are highly likely to follow suit.
For Samsung, it would not be the first time for larger variants of its flagship smartphones to gain more attention from consumers, according to the report.
The edge version of the Galaxy S6 and S7 accounted for 51.3 percent and 51.9 percent of combined sales. Samsung implemented dual-curved sides to the edge models.
The higher demand for the S8 Plus models would help Samsung's earnings thanks to their higher price.
The standard S8 is available at 935,000 won, while the S8 Plus costs 990,000, according to Samsung. The S8 Plus with a bigger memory and storage compared to the standard model, only available in China and Korea, costs 1.15 million won.
However, the report warned that the Galaxy S8 smartphones take some consumers of the Galaxy Note 8, a jumbo smartphone expected to hit shelves in the second half of the year.
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| The Galaxy S8 Plus |
The Korean tech giant's latest flagship smartphone comes in two models: a standard-size model with a 5.8-inch display and a larger S8 Plus with a 6.2-inch screen.
Lee Jae-yoon, an analyst from Yuanta Securities, forecast in his report that the sales volume of Galaxy S8 smartphones for this year is expected to reach 50.4 million, with the S8 Plus taking up 27.1 million, or 53.9 percent of sales.
After unveiling the high-end phone in late March, Samsung received preorders for the handsets from April 7 to 17 and the S8 Plus model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of built-in storage sold out only five days after the company began accepting preorders.
According to industry watchers, the greater popularity for the S8 Plus model is attributable to the increasing number of people using smartphones for mobiles games and video content.
With large screens emerging as a selling point in new smartphones, the S8 has a bezel-less, edge-to-edge design with an unusual 18.5:9 display, considered essential by those watching videos or playing games.
Considering such a trend, LG Electronics also adopted a near all-screen strategy with its latest flagship phone, the G6, in February and Apple's new iPhone, expected to hit stores in September, are highly likely to follow suit.
For Samsung, it would not be the first time for larger variants of its flagship smartphones to gain more attention from consumers, according to the report.
The edge version of the Galaxy S6 and S7 accounted for 51.3 percent and 51.9 percent of combined sales. Samsung implemented dual-curved sides to the edge models.
The higher demand for the S8 Plus models would help Samsung's earnings thanks to their higher price.
The standard S8 is available at 935,000 won, while the S8 Plus costs 990,000, according to Samsung. The S8 Plus with a bigger memory and storage compared to the standard model, only available in China and Korea, costs 1.15 million won.
However, the report warned that the Galaxy S8 smartphones take some consumers of the Galaxy Note 8, a jumbo smartphone expected to hit shelves in the second half of the year.
