In November last year, things looked bleak for Samsung. It was forced to recall the Galaxy Note 7 for a second time, after already recalling and “fixing” the Galaxy Note 7 once. As the old saying goes in technology: sell a burning phone once, shame on you; sell a burning phone twice, fire your entire QA department.
So it’s an understatement to say that the Galaxy S8 launch is big for Samsung. Financially, there’s a lot riding on it, but more than that, there’s its reputation as the best Android phone manufacturer.
So far, things look good. In a statement, a Samsung spokesperson said that “Pre-orders of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ in the US are outpacing those of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge with strong double digit growth. In addition, the majority of consumers have been selecting the Galaxy S8+, with Midnight Black being the preferred color of choice.”
The lack of any specifics, beyond “strong double digit growth,” mean we don’t quite know if the S8 was an adequate bump or a barnstorming success. Galaxy S7 pre-orders were themselves a record for a Galaxy S device, although we’ve come to expect some kind of increase in pre-orders every year, as the market for smartphone owners keeps growing.
But for Samsung, the fact that orders for the S8 are right on track (at the very least) must be relieving. It indicates that the Note 7 saga didn’t have a horrific impact on Samsung’s legacy, which is the best thing Samsung could hope for in 2017.
