There's no denying that the explosive Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was a hot mess, but it doesn't seem to affect the success of the new Galaxy S8 line.
Samsung had a tough year in 2016 with the Galaxy Note 7, as it had to recall the phablet twice because its battery kept overheating and exploding. That's no small inconvenience and Samsung faced a firestorm of criticism and ridicule over its fiery device.
The company's reputation took a blow and many worried that consumers might lose their trust in the Samsung brand after the whole Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, but it's not the case.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Preorders Keep Breaking Records
The latest Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ went up for preorder last week and sparked great interest, which is reflected in the record number of preorders registered so far.
Just earlier this week, news emerged that the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ drove more than 550,000 preorders in Samsung's home market of South Korea, proving far more popular than the Galaxy Note 7 and the Galaxy S7 series during the same period after their respective launches.
If that was not impressive enough, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are still on a roll and preorder numbers in South Korea have already soared past 720,000 and going strong.
Speaking at a media conference on Thursday in Seocho, Samsung' mobile head Koh Dong-jin said the company aims to sell 1 million devices in its home country before the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ officially hit store shelves on April 21.
Galaxy S8 Sales
When it comes to the smartphone's market performance in the United States, Koh did not reveal any specific preorder numbers but did say that the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are outselling their predecessors stateside as well.
"Although we are not able to disclose the exact figure, preorders of the Galaxy S8 are higher than those of its predecessor Galaxy S7 in the US," Koh said.
On the other hand, while counting preorders is a good way to gauge market reactions to a new product, it doesn't necessarily reflect the product's actual sales success.
"The news about the S8 is very positive at this point, though we have to see how many of the pre-orders translate into sales," points out Kiranjeet Kaur, IDC Asia/Pacific research manager for client devices.
Galaxy Note 7 Fiasco Helping Galaxy S8 Success?
Nevertheless, the researcher does reckon that the Galaxy Note 7 discontinuation left a gap building up demand for a large-screen, high-end Samsung Galaxy flagship, and the new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have what it takes to fill that gap.
In other words, not only did the Galaxy Note 7 not hurt the Galaxy S8 series' success, but it may have actually helped drive demand.
In previous years, Samsung fans looking for a top-notch flagship were divided between the Galaxy Note and Galaxy S series. Now, however, with no Galaxy Note alternative, the Galaxy S is the only option and the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ likely gained many fans who were left without the Note 7.
That said, Samsung is still expected to release a Galaxy Note 8 later this year, which could boast even more exciting specs and features than the S8 series. For now at least, however, the Galaxy S8 smartphones are on a roll and will likely be among the most successful smartphones of this year. The more than 720,000 preorders in South Korea so far bolster such expectations.
