Samsung's Galaxy S6 smartphones are outselling the company's previous Galaxy S5 flagship despite being available in fewer countries and receiving a lower marketing budget, a research director at Counterpoint Research said.
Tom Kang said Samsung's latest flagship S6 series, which comprises the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, can be considered to be outperforming the South Korean vendor's previous flagship model, after six million units of the latest models were sold between Apr. 10 (when the units were launched) and Apr. 30.
"Considering that fewer countries were in the initial product release, it has had a slower rollout and lower marketing budget than the Galaxy S5, the Galaxy S6 series can be considered to be performing better than the Galaxy S5," Kang noted in a press statement.
However, while Samsung's latest smartphones are doing better than their predecessor, the devices failed to topple Apple's iPhone in terms of sales during April.
Counterpoint Research places the Galaxy S6 in third place, and the S6 Edge in fourth in a list of the top 10 smartphones sold in April. Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus occupy the top two slots respectively, with Chinese vendor Xiaomi rounding out the top five with its Redmi 2 smartphone.
Interestingly, the research company's figures show Apple's iPhone 5s remained popular through April, ranking in seventh place. Samsung's Galaxy S5 also continued to rack up sales during the month, and is ranked in eighth position.
The research company estimated that Galaxy S6 shipments accounted for 21 per cent of Samsung's total smartphone shipments in April. In contrast, the Galaxy S5 accounted for 16 per cent of all shipments in April 2014.
However, the company also noted that Samsung's latest flagship models are cannibalising sales of other Android-based smartphone, in particular the company's own models. As a result, Samsung's overall market share remained stagnant despite the successful start to the Galaxy S6 range's sales.
Neil Shah, research director at Counterpoint, said supply issues held back Galaxy S6 Edge shipments to a degree in April, and predicted the model would eclipse the standard S6 in the long run.
"The curved glass is certainly going to be a challenge for production as it is the first of its kind and navigating unchartered waters, so managing the supply with shifts in demand between the two models will be the key to maintaining momentum," Shah commented.
For more:
- view Counterpoint Research's statement
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