Samsung has once again successfully maintained its top spot in the mobile market, and recent reports indicate that the top 4 popular smartphones in the world throughout the first half of 2016 were the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, the Galaxy S6 and its Edge counterpart, followed by the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. Needless to say, Samsung’s mobile business appears to be doing very well, but we’re only halfway through 2016 and by the end of the year, the South Korean tech giant expects even better results. Reportedly, Samsung is now looking forward to shipping 350 million smartphones in 2016, up from last year’s shipments of 324 million units.
Throughout the first quarter of the year, Samsung managed to ship 81.9 million smartphones, out of which 10 million units were accounted for by Samsung Galaxy S7 shipments in March alone. In the second quarter of 2016, Samsung shipped 77 million smartphones, and by the end of the first half of the year, the tech giant shipped 27 million Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge units. This accounts for a total of 158.9 million smartphones shipped in H1 2016, which means that Samsung has to ship another 191.1 million units by the end of the year in order to meet its target of 350 million shipments. The question is whether or not Samsung will succeed, and while we don’t have a clear answer for that, industry watchers predict that the Galaxy S7 series will continue to contribute to the company’s goal. Furthermore, the Galaxy Note 7, expected to debut on August 2nd, should also help the smartphone giant to back up its forecast. But besides the flagship market segment where Samsung seems to have everything under control, industry sources also predict that the Samsung Galaxy J series will greatly contribute to reaching 350 million smartphone shipments in 2016. The Samsung Galaxy J5 and Galaxy J7 were unveiled earlier in March, and the new Samsung Galaxy J2 featuring a unique “Smart Glow” LED notification system, was introduced in India at the beginning of July. Moreover, shipments could also surge in the second half and towards the end of the year during the holiday shopping season.
Assuming that Samsung will meet its own expectations and ship 350 million units throughout the year, this will ensure the company’s spot at the top of the Android food chain once again. Should Samsung pull this off, we’re also looking at a 7.8% increase in shipments year-on-year, compared to 2015.