Recognition: David Imel / Android Authority
- According to Samsung UK, the Galaxy S21 series broke pre-order records, surpassing the S10 and S20.
- The Galaxy S21 Ultra accounted for over half of those early sales.
- The S21 was already successful in South Korea.
You might not be thrilled that Samsung removed the microSD slot and included charger from the Galaxy S21, but that doesn’t seem to dampen enthusiasm for the company’s newest flagships. According to SamMobileAccording to Samsung UK, the Galaxy S21 family has broken pre-order sales records, dwarfing demand for the S10 and S20.
The company didn’t release specific sales numbers for the Galaxy S21 range, but did make it clear that the high-end S21 Ultra was the main attraction. The top phone accounted for more than half of the pre-orders. That’s not entirely surprising if these customers are more like fans, but it’s a sharp contrast to the S20 Plus that dominated the first half of 2020.
Continue reading: The best Galaxy S21 alternatives
Samsung’s results are somewhat unexpected. While there were indications of strong demand in the South Korean homeland, the company said the company had made conservative sales estimates for the Galaxy S21 due to the pandemic and premium competition.
It is unclear whether or not Samsung will be able to maintain the Galaxy S21’s sales momentum, or whether that will roll over to other countries. The audience that pre-orders a phone is not the same as that that buys that phone during its main life cycle. Perhaps more people are buying the regular S21 models or looking for one of its alternatives. Samsung has tougher competition in countries like North America and China, where rivals like Apple and Xiaomi have more influence.
However, if this reflects the overall performance of Samsung, then it looks promising for the company. It suggests that Samsung has raised complaints about the S20 series and that some of its controversial design decisions were insufficient to affect sales of the Galaxy S21.