It was only a few days ago that Samsung decided to stop selling the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. The company originally released the device in August but the handset was subject to a recall because the device was spontaneously catching fire, sometimes when on the charger and sometimes when in normal use. After a high profile and damaging recall, Samsung re-released the re-manufactured devices and unfortunately a number of post-recall Galaxy Note 7 devices subsequently caught fire, one rather famously as an airliner was preparing for takeoff requiring an evacuation. Samsung’s decision to recall all Galaxy Note 7s is damaging for the business both in terms of the 2.5 million devices that now need to be recycled (or “safely disposed of”) and of course the reputational damage to the business. We may never see another Samsung Galaxy Note product going forwards.
One question at the time for many smartphone buyers is “what next?” There are many customers who have bought the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 for its combination of elegant design, large high resolution Samsung AMOLED display, camera and battery life. There are many potential replacement devices including of course Samsung’s existing 2016 flagship family of devices: the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. At the time of the recalls, Samsung explained that it was ramping up the production of the Galaxy S7 devices as many customers were being offered these phones as replacements for the Galaxy Note 7 and the source Korean newspaper is reporting that Samsung’s Galaxy S7 family is benefiting from fresh sales momentum. Korean research company, Atlas Research & Consulting, reported that the 32GB version of the Samsung Galaxy S7 was the highest selling device in the local market for the period 6 to 12 October, capturing over 16% of the market. The three largest Korean carriers are reporting that their daily sales of the Galaxy S7 are in the 15,000 region, where a daily sales number of 10,000 “is considered a hit.”
There are many reasons why the Galaxy S7 family are a suitable replacement device for the Galaxy Note 7: Samsung shares several similar components between the two smartphone families, such as the chipset and use of a gorgeous Samsung AMOLED panel. Both smartphones use a similar design language and high quality build. Furthermore, Apple have yet to release the iPhone 7 into the Korean market: this is due out at the end of this week. It remains to be seen how much of a dent the new iPhone will have on Galaxy S7 family sales, but Samsung still has at least one trick left for the device: the company has so far not released the Coral Blue color Galaxy S7 into the Korean market, but explained they “are considering” releasing this model in November.