Samsung’s gamble in a crowded phone market: Will it pay off?
The Galaxy S series is by far one of Samsung’s most popular smartphone lineups. It has also been one of the most consistent. Over the years, Samsung has introduced and cut many models but the Galaxy S series has been a permanent fixture. It has been the ideal representation of Samsung’s vision for flagship smartphones.
It goes without saying that the Galaxy S series has served Samsung well. These have been some of its best-selling smartphones, bringing in a lot of profit for the company. Samsung has continued to revamp and refresh the lineup over the years. We’ve seen it go from launching one single Galaxy S flagship to as many as three separate models in recent years.
As the Galaxy S lineup has grown, so have its challenges. There are far more rivals on the market now than just a few years ago. Some of them are pretty capable devices and specs that match or even outperform Samsung’s flagships, at least on paper. Even Google, from which Samsung licenses the software that its phones run, is seriously trying to steal Samsung’s Galaxy S customers. OnePlus has launched its 2023 flagship a month before the Galaxy S23 just to get a head start.
Saturation isn’t the only challenge, though. Most customers no longer change their phones, particularly expensive high-end devices, every year. They are perfectly happy in keeping them for at least two years or more. This has led to an overall reduction in demand. Samsung’s Galaxy S phones are also expensive with prices starting at $799. With the global economies as they right now and people finding it harder to justify such expenses, it’s not surprising that Samsung isn’t able to sell as many units as before.
The company expected to sell 30 million units combined of all the Galaxy S22 models launched last year. That would have been a considerable improvement over the estimated 25 million Galaxy S21 units sold in 2021. Recent reports have suggested that Samsung may not meet its sales target for the Galaxy S22.
Recent rumors have also highlighted the possibility of Samsung reducing the number of models in its flagship series from next year. It’s believed that since the Galaxy S22+ didn’t sell particularly well, there may not be a Galaxy S24+ in 2024, with Samsung opting for launch the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Ultra only. This change isn’t being made with the Galaxy S23 lineup that’s due next month.
The approach that Samsung appears to be taking with this year’s Galaxy S23 series also leaves a lot to be desired. The upcoming flagships have quite the iPhoney vibe to them. They don’t look all that similar to some of Samsung’s recent flagships, which would obviously be what fans would have expected.
All of the rumors and leaks that we’ve seen so far, and there have been quite a few, don’t seem to indicate any groundbreaking major improvements that would instantly make the Galaxy S23 the series to beat in 2023. Samsung can surely coast on its reputation for a lot of things. The build quality will be second to none and the materials will most certainly be premium. That’s the least you’d expect from a Samsung flagship phone. That aside, the Galaxy S23 may struggle to set itself apart from the plethora of other high-end phones we’ll see in the months to come.
For all intents and purposes, the Galaxy S23 seems to be a rather evolutionary offering to a flagship smartphone market that’s in considerable turmoil. With its Galaxy S shipments already in decline and Samsung being unable to return them to their former glory, is that going to be enough?
I wouldn’t bet on it. The resurgence that it’s looking for is unlikely to be delivered by a cookie cutter flagship that’s ostensibly not going to be unique or spectacular enough to bring home the bacon. It wouldn’t be surprising if Samsung remains unable to ship as many units as it expects, or even matches what the outgoing Galaxy S22 lineup has been able to achieve.
Perhaps this may give the company an incentive to make the deal sweeter for customers to get them to make a purchase. That could manifest in several ways, including better trade-in deals, enhanced discounts, and more value addition through bundle deals offered via Samsung.com.
Samsung has made a big gamble to approach the streetfight that’s going to be the flagship smartphone market in 2023. Like most fans, I’ll be hoping that it makes it through unscathed.
