Update: Note 8 scored 850,000 pre-orders in South Korea

Update, September 15: After the Galaxy Note 8 pre-order window closed yesterday, Samsung revealed that it recorded around 850,000 pre-orders for its new flagship. Of these orders, 35 percent were for the 256 GB model that costs the equivalent of $1100 in South Korea. That’s about 300,000 orders, proving that there is demand for ultra expensive smartphones.

Update, September 9: In a blog post, Samsung announced that more customers in the US have pre-ordered the Galaxy Note 8 compared to previous Note devices during the same period. No other details were revealed, but it looks like the high price tag and the Note 7 issues are not putting people off from the Note 8.

Original post, September 8: Last year’s Galaxy Note 7 turned out to be a disaster for the company. Because of the faulty batteries that spontaneously caught fire, Samsung had to recall its phablet, which resulted in the tech giant losing a lot of money, while the reputation of its brand took a real beating.

Because of the Note 7 fiasco, many thought that we might not see its successor announced and even if we did, it wouldn’t sell quite as well as its predecessor. However, it looks like these assumptions were just plain wrong. The Note series is still very much alive, with the Note 8 being revealed less than a month ago. And despite all the bad press Samsung received because of the Note 7, the new version of the high-end phablet is selling extremely well.

Samsung has announced that around 395,000 consumers have pre-ordered the Galaxy Note 8 in South Korea on the first day alone. For comparison, its predecessor received 380,000 pre-orders in 13 days. That’s a big difference! The company also mentioned that 65 percent of people opted for the 64 GB model that retails for 1.09 million won (around $965) and that the most popular color was Deep Sea Blue.

What’s interesting is that despite being more expensive, the Galaxy Note 8 is still a lot more popular among consumers that its predecessor. I guess that some people are willing to overlook the high price tag as well as all the Note 7-related problems for the large Infinity Display with minimal bezels and the dual-camera setup on the back the phablet comes with.

With the demand as high as it is, the Note 8 could also prove to be more popular than the Galaxy S8 series. The two smartphones received 550,000 pre-orders in South Korea in the first two days, which means that Samsung’s phablet is currently on track to outsell them. But that’s just the start. Analysts think the total number of Galaxy Note 8 pre-orders in South Korea will surpass one million, which means there’s a chance the device might set a new record.

It’s clear that the Note 8 is doing great in Samsung’s home country, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will prove to be more popular than its predecessor or the S8 duo in other countries as well. Don’t get me wrong, Samsung’s latest phablet is one beast of a phone, but not everyone will be able to overlook the high price tag and the whole Note 7 fiasco.

Additionally, we also have to consider the fact that the Note 8 is facing some serious competition this year. LG has recently taken the wraps off the V30, a phablet that is seen as a real threat to the Note 8 based on its high-end specs, thin bezels, and a dual-camera setup. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but I think it’s safe to say that the device will be cheaper than the latest Note, which might be a good enough reason for some to get it over its main rival.

We’ll have to wait a bit longer to see just how many pre-orders the Note 8 will get in the US and other Western markets to get a better idea of just how popular the device really is. For now, it looks like it might become the most popular smartphone from the Note series ever, but there’s still a chance the V30 could prevent this from happening.

Do you think the Note 8 will outsell the Note 7 as well as the S8 series globally? Let us know in the comments.