Samsung Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge Outsold the S5, but can't Match the iPhone

[dgstorm]

A new report from Counterpoint Research shares some interesting details about Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge sales this year. First, the good news for Sammy is that the S6 and S6 Edge together have outsold the Galaxy S5 from last year. Counterpoint’s research indicated that 6 million units (of 10 Million shipped) were sold to actual customers by the end of April. Additionally, the interest in the S6 Edge was much higher than Samsung expected.

Samsung initially assumed that the S6 would greatly outsell the S6 Edge, but it turns out the Galaxy S6 only sold “slightly” more than the S6 Edge in April. Neil Shah, Research Director with Counterpoint had this to say,

"We believe the Galaxy S6 Edge could have sold more if there weren’t supply issues, but it is on track to become more popular than the standard version as Samsung’s marketing engine kicks-in at full-speed. The curved glass is certainly going to be a challenge for production as it is the first of its kind and navigating unchartered waters, so managing the supply with shifts in demand between the two models will be the key to maintaining momentum."

Counterpoint's analysis suggests that Samsung will likely sell as many as 50 Million Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge models by the end of this year. The bad news for Samsung is that even though the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are a phenomenal success, they didn't really take away much from the Apple iPhone. In fact, they couldn't really come close to matching the sales of the new iPhone 6 during its initial launch.

For the most part, the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge sales continue to cannibalize other Android phones, including their own high-end smartphones. In the long run, it looks like Samsung could have had an even greater success if they were able to predict the runaway hit that the Galaxy S6 Edge turned out to be, and prepared with ramped production.

Here's our dedicated Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge section for further discussion: Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge General Discussions Android Forum at DroidForums.net

 

[johnomaz]

I think Samsung has lost a lot of customers to LG, Motorola and HTC. They lost my business.

 

[dgstorm]

That's true, but it looks like they are taking many of them back, especially since HTC made a miss-step with the One M9. As I said in the article, their improved sales aren't really taking away Apple customers, just customers from other Android OEMs.

Although I have owned and still own a few Samsung products, I have never owned a Samsung smartphone. The S6 Edge is the first one that tempted me, just because it has a unique design. I am pretty happy with my Nexus 5, and am unlikely to give into temptation anytime soon though.

 

[Ollie]

It's a hard fall when you are falling from the top of the pile. Hopefully they will learn something on the way down and be able to claw their way back up again.

 

[Vepaot]

I really liked Samsung's aggressive approach when they originally started poking fun at the iPhone with the original Galaxy S. But these days, their business model is too much like Apple's. On top of that, the finished product just isn't as great as everyone makes it out to be. For a long time, I was hearing people use the word "Samsung" and "Galaxy" in place of Android, asking something to the extent of "What kind of Galaxy is that?" I knew this one chick that actually had it in her head that Android was the name of Samsung's line of smart phones. Tsk tsk.

At any rate, I'm glad to see they're losing some market share. Like Ollie said, the bigger you are the harder you'll fall. Hopefully this means a more competitive industry with other companies starting to gain traction. Personally I love my LG G2 and will probably upgrade to the G4 sometime this year. LG has continued to impress me with their products.

 

[94lt1]

I think that the note edge should've been a lead off to what they did with the s6e.. But instead they rolled the edge functionality back.. I understand size being the reason.. But i think with some better planning.. They could've added to the functionality.. So that seems like an Ill thought step in the wrong direction..

As far as Apple.. Who's to say.. I know a lot if Apple users who went android and a few grasped it... To others it was just "too involved" they couldn't get away from the ease of their iPhone.. They didn't want/need all of the "other things they could do" with Android.. Most of em don't even give it a chance.. That's been my experience with my Co workers.. But the people who are more about expression on their devices.. (other than cases) they've all gone android..

 

[New2u]

I think the biggest issues with articles like this is that most of them don't take into effect the actual selling markets. Most of these stories are just there for clickbait, as the Iphone 6 and 6+ are available in what, close to 110 countries and markets, and the Samsung S6 & Edge are available in 20 countries (at least to start). Of course one is going to outsell the other by sheer number of markets to sell in, and of course none of the articles actually show you their raw data (of course not).

Both of the phones are great phones but I do not see the point in articles that say one is doing way worse then the other because of number of units sold.

 

[alicia78]

I agree , I guess the increase in unit sold is new design...as specs are not as much attractive...