Wait, what?
Okay, to simplify things: the battle is between the just-released Galaxy S24 and the Galaxy S10 from 2019. These two devices are five years apart. Much like that of a dog’s, the age of a phone cannot be counted by human years’ standard. In “tech years”, five is a lot. The Galaxy S10 was – and still is – a great phone, but it’s simply no match for the new AI beast from South Korea.Only vandals and savages would like to compare the Galaxy S24 with the Galaxy S10 in terms of performance. We’re civilized, so don’t expect that from us. Furthermore, performance points are not what the battle is about.
The fight between these two Samsung champions is an ongoing one, and it’s not clear at all which one will triumph in the end.
What’s the beef about?
The battle is about money. Or, as ABBA said: “Money, money, money…”.It’s about which model sells the most domestically. Some may think that each year, as smartphones get generally better, they sell more as well. Nope – since not all smartphones are made equally, they certainly do not sell equally.
Also, the world went a bit crazy these last years, various vital supply chains across the globe were disrupted, the politics scene got too unpredictable, and more. All of that affects the buyers’ habits (and wallets).
Who’s the titleholder?
So far, there isn’t a single Galaxy S model that sold as much as the Galaxy S10 in South Korea. Since 2019, there’s been an abundance of Galaxy S champs – the Galaxy S20, S21, S22, and the S23 – but none managed to outsell the Galaxy S10 domestically.
Now, there’s a new pretender for the crown in the face of the Galaxy S24 line. Pre-orders for Samsung’s latest and greatest are on track to break records. A report from the Korean media notes that the Galaxy S24 is already selling better than the Galaxy S23 from last year. But wait, there’s more.
Give me some numbers
Per the report, domestic pre-order sales of the AI-centric Galaxy S24 series have approached 1.2 million units. Thanks to various pre-order bonus offers (and mobile carriers’ financial seductions), the initial online stock is said to be sold out in 1 hour and a half. Some vendors have shared that the craze is mainly focused on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which accounts for 60% of the total pre-orders.
Some more statistics: the previous Galaxy S23 series sold 1.09 million units domestically, the S22 series sold 1.01 million units, and the S21 sold just 800,000 units in Korea. So far, things are great!
What about the big record?
The initial surge in sales is great, but over at Samsung’s headquarters, they’d be so happy to see the record broken by the Galaxy S24 – the total number of sold phones for the year.
The predictions so far say that total annual sales will reach up to 36 million units for the Galaxy S24. If this turns out to be true, the 2024 flagship will be the first to exceed 30 million units in five years (since the Galaxy S10 in 2019).
Pre-orders are indicative to what potential a given product holds. The initial sales of the Galaxy S20 through the Galaxy S23 series were in harmony with the total annual sales domestically: the Galaxy S20 sold 25.4 million units for a year, the Galaxy S21 – 24.3 million units, and the Galaxy S22 – 23.8 million units. According to insiders, the Galaxy S23 has some 29 million units on its record.
In comparison, the Galaxy S10 sold 35.4 million units in the year of its release.
How?
In 2019 things were – to put it mildly – somewhat different, so it’s not a major surprise that it was easier to sell a phone in 2019 than in 2020 through 2023.
So, if the Galaxy S24 goes on a record-breaking sales rampage in 2024, that would mean that either the world is going back to normality, or that the Galaxy S24 is just a very decent phone that’s a domestic hit.
It’s up to you to decide. That “Galaxy AI” magic marketing sure did its job and got many to click the Pre-order button. However, Samsung messed up big time with the Galaxy S24 Ultra display (spoiler alert: it’s too good, and Samsung failed to highlight it).
If you believe the Galaxy S24 could break the jinx not only for Samsung but also for the world, hit that Pre-order button as well:
