(3rd LD) Galaxy S8's preorders reach whopping 1 mln

All News 23:13 April 18, 2017

(ATTN: UPDATES figure on 3rd para)

SEOUL, April 18 (Yonhap) -- Preorders for Samsung Electronics Co.'s flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8, have surpassed 1 million units, the company said Tuesday, setting a new record among all of its smartphones.

The tally compares with preorders for 200,000 units for its predecessor, the Galaxy S7, over a week, and 400,000 for the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 over 13 days.

As of 8:00 p.m., about 210,900 of the preordered Samsung smartphones have been opened under new accounts, according to data tallied by three local mobile carriers.

Industry watchers said earlier that around 70 to 80 percent of the preorders will lead to actual sales. Samsung started shipping the new device for those who purchased it through preorders which ran from April 7-17.

The South Korean tech giant showcased the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus last month, with the official sales of the device kicking off in South Korea and the United States on Friday.

The devices feature high-resolution displays that bend on both ends and come with various innovative technologies such as iris and face recognition scanners and a smart voice assistance program named Bixby.

The better-than-expected preorders raise hopes that Samsung's new flagship may sell more than 40 million copies. Local brokerage firms have been estimating sales of the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus could reach around 43-60 million units.

The company has been trying to put to rest the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 phablet that was recalled after some caught fire while charging. The high-profile incident hurt the company's image.

Samsung, meanwhile, may face hurdles in securing enough inventory to meet the record-beating preorders for the Galaxy S8 smartphones. The company also faced supply shortages last year when it sold the Galaxy Note 7, resulting in delayed shipments.

Some of the local users complained that some of the Galaxy S8 smartphones have excessively reddish displays, with other users also claiming that the problem leads to sore eyes.

"Color issues with AMOLED displays existed before the Galaxy S8," Samsung Electronics said, insisting users can visit its service centers to find out if their devices are defective.

Experts said the problem could be attributable to the fact that while traditional LCD panels use red, green, and blue, the Super AMOLED adopted by the Galaxy S8 uses two pixels, red-green and blue-green.