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Deal
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd may launch its flagship Galaxy S smartphones more than a month earlier than expected in a bid to gain market share from Huawei and fend off competition from Apple Inc, three sources familiar with the matter said.
FILE PHOTO: (LR) Samsung Galaxy S20, S20 + and S20 Ultra 5G smartphones are seen during Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2020 in San Francisco, California, USA on February 11, 2020. REUTERS / Stephen Lam
Seoul: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd may launch its flagship Galaxy S smartphones more than a month earlier than expected in a bid to gain market share from Huawei and avoid competition from Apple Inc., said three sources familiar with the matter.
Huawei Technologies Co Ltd once challenged Samsung’s superior position in the global smartphone market, but the Chinese rival is in survival mode with US restrictions choking its supplies of chips used in smartphones and mobile devices. telecommunications.
South Korean chip industry officials hope the Joe Biden presidency will ease some of those restrictions, though they are far from certain as they also expect the incoming US administration to maintain a tough stance on China.
Samsung is preparing to launch its new Galaxy S21 in late January next year, while it previously released its flagship phone S20 in early March this year, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the plan is not public.
Samsung Electronics declined to comment.
The South Korean company shipped 59% fewer Galaxy S20 5G series phones to the United States in the second quarter compared to the performance of the previous model a year earlier, according to research firm Canalys. By contrast, Apple shipped 15% more of its flagship iPhone 11 than last year’s best-seller, the iPhone XR.
Samsung, which lost its number one position to Huawei in the second quarter, regained the crown in the third thanks in part to US restrictions on Huawei.
A person from a major smartphone chip supplier said Huawei’s reserves were expected to be depleted early next year.
Samsung, however, faces increasing competition from Chinese rivals such as Xiaomi and Oppo, which are expected to take advantage of Huawei’s struggle to retain market share.
Apple also launched its iPhone series in October, about a month later than usual, intensifying competition.
(Information from Hyunjoo Jin and Heekyong Yang; additional information from Stephen Nellis in San Francisco and Joyce Lee; edited by Stephen Coates)
