Samsung sees strong demand for Galaxy S8 despite Note7 fiasco

From PC World: Samsung is seeing strong demand for its Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones, suggesting that consumers may be looking beyond the company’s debacle with the Galaxy Note7.

The company’s head of mobile DJ Koh said at a media event in South Korea on Thursday that pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ had outstripped those for its predecessors, the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, which were launched in March last year.

A Samsung spokesperson confirmed Koh’s remarks but did not provide figures for the pre-orders for the devices. The company disclosed, however, the number of pre-orders for the S8 and S8+ in home market South Korea, which were at over 728,000.

"The news about the S8 is very positive at this point, though we have to see how many of the pre-orders translate into sales," said Kiranjeet Kaur, research manager for client devices at IDC Asia/Pacific. There is a pent up demand for a large screen Samsung phone after the Note7 was discontinued, and the S8 devices meet that requirement, she added.

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are scheduled to hit shelves in the U.S. and some other markets from April 21. The new devices have been closely watched because it is the first major launch by the company after battery issues surfaced in the Note7, an earlier flagship device, forcing the company to stop production in October of the smartphone and recall over 3 million units.

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