Samsung's 2022 smartphone lineup and production plans may have just leaked in their entirety

It may not seem like it all the time, but major tech companies generally have their product release strategies outlined years in advance of actually rolling out said devices to end users. That’s why it’s not entirely impossible, for instance, for a well-connected insider to anticipate the upgrades and design revisions Apple might be preparing for 2023’s iPhone 15 or even 2024’s iPhone 16.

Case in point, Samsung undoubtedly had a moment when it was still considering a 2021 Galaxy Note 21 launch, not to mention how many times the company reportedly revised the S21 FE timeline. While that should be enough to convince you to take today’s leaked 2022 roadmap (translated here) with a massive chunk of salt, it’s still interesting to get a peek behind the curtain so early into the Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 development process, for instance.

Expect the “regular” Galaxy S22 to beat all other Samsung high-enders

If the tech giant’s current predictions hold up, the fast-approaching Galaxy S22 family will need to be manufactured in roughly 33 million copies (combined) to satisfy global demand. That number surges to almost 40 million if you also consider the S22 Fan Edition, which could see daylight as early as Q3 2022 despite the S21 FE’s countless delays.

Leaked Galaxy S22 renders

At just 7.9 million units, the mid-sized member of the S22 roster could find itself between a rock (the compact and presumably reasonably priced Galaxy S22) and a hard place (the ultra-high-end S22 Ultra with a built-in S Pen), struggling to carve out a big niche of its own.

Speaking of niches, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 production goals currently sit at 2.9 and 6.9 million units respectively, while the Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 should themselves account for a combined 3.2 million units in 2022. That once again highlights the rapidly growing potential of foldable devices, although it still doesn’t exceed the 14.1 million production objective set for the “vanilla” Galaxy S22 alone.

Finally, this might be a good time to purchase the S21+ or S21 Ultra (if you can still find them anywhere), with their combined 2022 production likely to sit at a microscopic 300K units, compared to a solid 2.7 million for the “standard” S21 and 3.3 million for the S20 FE (in 4G LTE and 5G-enabled variants).

The bulk of Samsung’s volumes will come from the low to mid-end sector

There’s a good reason why Apple is the king of smartphone profits and Samsung… is not. The only Galaxy models routinely capable of rivaling the newest iPhones in sales numbers are part of the low-cost A family, and that’s unlikely to change in the near future.

The entry-level Galaxy A13 should closely follow the 5G-enabled A53 mid-ranger in the Android best-selling ranks next year, at a whopping 27 and 28 million units respectively, while the Galaxy A33 5G is expected to come in third, with an impressive 23 million of its own.

As you can notice, the big numbers are in the Galaxy A-series category

In total, Samsung wants to manufacture more than 330 million smartphones in 2022, almost 270 million of which are low and mid-end models. That represents around 80 percent of the overall tally, which doesn’t sound great from a division profitability standpoint.

Another interesting number reported by Korean media today is 52. That’s apparently how many models will be featured in Samsung’s 2022 smartphone lineup, although we assume the figure includes both new releases and old ones still expected to be in production.

Samsung’s 2022 smartphone lineup and production plans may have just leaked in their entirety

Expect the “regular” Galaxy S22 to beat all other Samsung high-enders

The bulk of Samsung’s volumes will come from the low to mid-end sector

The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition New Comparison Video Highlights All Visual Changes

Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra may be even more Note-like than we thought

Related Posts