Samsung Galaxy S21 sales lowest in years, company starts internal review
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL; DR
- The Galaxy S21 series has reportedly seen very disappointing sales compared to older S-series flagships.
- Samsung is apparently conducting a review of its wireless business due to declining sales and poor revenue.
- Galaxy S21 series sales are 20% less than the S20 and 47% less than the S10 phones.
Samsung’s Galaxy S21 series may be cheaper than its predecessor, but its sales have reportedly been the worst in Samsung’s recent history. Numbers reported by Counterpoint Research (via Naver) show a significant drop in Galaxy S21 sales compared to sales of the Galaxy S20, S10 and even older flagships. This slowdown in growth is apparently also ringing the alarm bells at Samsung, and the company is expected to conduct an internal review of its wireless business.
You may also like … The full story of the Galaxy S series
According to Counterpoint Research, the Galaxy S21 series saw sales of approximately 13.5 million units worldwide in the first six months of its launch. In contrast, the Samsung Galaxy S20 series saw 20% higher sales over the same period. The numbers look even more terrifying compared to the Galaxy S10 series, which apparently sold 47% more units in the first six months. Below is Counterpoint’s graph showing the sales of the Galaxy S21 compared to older flagships.
Ruffled feathers at Samsung
Accordingly The Elec, Samsung leadership is conducting a “special review” of the mobile unit throughout August due to lackluster revenue. Such reviews are reportedly conducted when top management believes there is a problem with a particular business unit. Depending on how the review went, the company could conduct a review of its wireless business.
From today’s perspective, Samsung is expected to miss its sales target for the Galaxy S21 series.
A source also related The Elec that the chip manufacturer MediaTek has announced to Samsung that it cannot fulfill its SoC orders partly because of the global shortage of chips, but also because of the company’s weakened market position.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi has allegedly overtaken Samsung and is the leading smartphone provider in Europe. The Chinese phone maker is also moving towards Samsung around the world. According to a recent Canalys report, Xiaomi ranks second in the global smartphone market, just a hair’s breadth from Samsung.
New chips and foldables a way out for Samsung?
With Samsung’s Galaxy S series of sales falling, all eyes are on how the company’s upcoming foldable phones will play out.
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 will reportedly be cheaper than Samsung’s older foldable devices, potentially leading to better sales. However, not everyone is happy that Samsung ditched the Galaxy Note series this year. In fact, a survey was conducted on Android authority showed that a lot of people want Samsung to replace the S22 series with new Galaxy Note phones next year.
Samsung has also launched the rumored Galaxy S21 FE, which could replicate the success of its predecessor. Add in the robust Galaxy A-series sales and Samsung could soon regain lost ground. We have to wait and see what happens.
