We’ve already posted many articles about the Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone, which we expect to be announced soon. This handset and the Apple iPhone 5 are easily the most highly-awaited phones of the year and although the success of the Galaxy S3 seems already assured, news today is that it could mean the sky’s the limit for Samsung on release.
The Galaxy S3 already has people drooling even before anything has officially been announced for Samsung’s Android flagship device. Just some of the things we expect to see are an increased display size with Super AMOLED Plus HD, an Exynos quad-core processor, LTE connectivity, 2GB of RAM, improved 10 or 12-megapixel camera and the latest Android 4.0 ICS operating system. As we pointed out though, none of this is yet confirmed and another rumored feature, that of 3D support, was recently quashed with a statement from Samsung. However we would be surprised if most of the above doesn’t come to fruition for the Galaxy S3.
As far as sales are concerned, back in February we told how the continued success of the Galaxy S2 seemed to be a recipe for success for the Galaxy S3. It would be extremely unusual for the next iteration of a phone that has sold in such huge numbers, not to also hit sales heights. We told how smartphone sales usually hit their peak in the first few months after release but that the Galaxy S2 had sold 10 million units in its first six months on sale and yet another 10 million in the four months following that, bucking the usual trend.
Now we have news of latest Samsung sales and if we thought things were looking good for the company back in February, they look even more promising now. An article on Android Authority, quoting sales figures as reported by the Korea Times, informs us that in Q1 of this year alone, Samsung sold 41 million smartphones, equating to a record operating profit of $5.15 billion (5.8 trillion Korean won). These are estimated figures but the closest we are likely to get to official numbers and are not expected to be too far astray from accurate figures. The Q1 figures mean a 96.6% rise over the same time last year, which is surprising considering that this is usually a slow time of year for smartphone sales. It also represents a 9.4% rise over the previous quarter.
It all begs the question that if this can be achieved even before the Galaxy S3 arrives, what on earth might we see once the Galaxy S3 releases? Android Authority suggests the possibility that the next quarter could see sales of 50 million smartphones for Samsung even before the Galaxy S3 appears. This is mainly down to the popularity of the Galaxy Note hybrid smartphone/tablet and also continued success for Samsung in the mid and low-end handset market. If that sounds over-ambitious we should take into account the following quarterly statistics for Samsung smartphones. In Q2, 2011, sales of 20.2 million, Q3, 2011, sales of 28.1 million, Q4, 2011, sales of 36.5 million and now Q1, 2012, sales of 41 million.
Many are expecting a Galaxy S3 release later this month although various time frames have been suggested between now and July. In more news suggesting the Galaxy S3 will see phenomenal sales the Christian Post recently reported that 10 million pre-orders for the S3 have already been placed, according to tweets from well-known industry insider Eldar Murtazin. If this is accurate then the Galaxy S3 could prove even more popular than its predecessor and take Samsung profits to new heights.
What we’d like to ask readers today then is whether you think that Samsung can achieve smartphone sales of 50 million units this quarter, even without the Galaxy S3? Maybe you think those figures are only achievable if the Galaxy S3 releases shortly? Have you already made up your mind to make it your next smartphone purchase?