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Samsung is disappointed with Galaxy S10 sales − but it’s found a solution

Samsung has confessed that sales for the flagship Galaxy S10 are disappointing. But the response to underwhelming sales is to attack from two directions.

In its quarterly statement, Samsung admitted that flagship sales have fallen due to “weak sales momentum for the Galaxy S10 and stagnant demand for premium products”.

In other words, it seems the premium end of the market is saturated right now, and the S10 might not have done enough to stand out from the fierce competition. But Samsung’s response will come from two directions: the budget A-series, and the flagship Galaxy Fold and Samsung Galaxy Note 10.

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The new models in the A series have sold very well, according to the report, even bucking the overall decline of a declining smartphone market.

The Samsung Galaxy A50 and Samsung Galaxy A70 in particular were highlighted for strong sales performance. And now, to overcome the Galaxy S10 disappointment, Samsung will put even more faith in the budget-friendly series, promising to “introduce more competitive A series models in the second half to extend the ongoing positive momentum in mass market smartphone sales”.

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But penny-pinching phones aren’t the only solution Samsung has in store: it is placing faith in two new development paths.

Firstly, it “aims to take the lead in the new market” for 5G, which could well be possible since Apple isn’t due to release its first 5G iPhone until the second half of 2020, whereas the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G is already available to buy.

It’s heavily expected that there will be at least one 5G variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 too.

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The second area for optimism is the foldables market, and Samsung might have some trouble here despite being pioneers. The Samsung Galaxy Fold — tellingly mentioned just once in Samsung’s financial results report — had a torrid launch, malfunctioning after just days with a serious screen fault.

Following the embarrassing misfire, the device has presumably been fixed and it will now be resold in September. It’s encouraging to see that Samsung has such renewed confidence in this cutting-edge handset, but some customers are likely to have reservations about buying a foldable from Samsung.

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