Early Galaxy S10 sales said to be underwhelming, Samsung says otherwise

South Korean sales for the Samsung Galaxy S10 series have arrived and the situation doesn’t look great for Samsung. Samsung Galaxy S10 activations suggest pre-orders were lower than last year’s Galaxy S9, according to The Investor. The Galaxy S9 sales were reportedly a record low for Samsung.

The Investor says there were 140,000 day-one activations for the Galaxy S10, S10 Plus, and S10e, compared to 180,000 for the S9 and S9 Plus, and 200,000 for the Galaxy Note 9.

However, Samsung has disputed the claims.

“The news reports of the initial sales of the S10 is based on the wrong stats of the S9 and S10,” a Samsung spokesperson told The Investor. “The reported sales figure also excluded the units sold through local mobile virtual network operators.”

According to Samsung, the Galaxy S10 sales are actually “1.2 times” higher than the S9 series sales. However, Samsung did not comment on what the real numbers were.

Why might the Galaxy S10 have sold poorly?

It wouldn’t be a complete shock if the S10 series was selling less than the Note 9 or S9; there are several factors that may have negatively affected its sales.

For one, Samsung’s most high powered phone, the S10 Plus, is more expensive than any Galaxy S phone yet, starting at $999 and going up to $1,599 in the U.S. (it’s similarly priced in South Korea). People are also holding onto their phones longer, and since the Galaxy S10 arguably does much of what smartphones did last year and the year before — albeit a little better — some may see little need to upgrade.

Critically, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Fold and Galaxy S10 5G alongside the new phones, upcoming devices that offer unexplored potential in internet connectivity and design. Some fans may be holding out for those phones, despite their even larger price tags.

Regardless, we may have to wait for Samsung’s official revenue breakdown to get a more accurate impression of how they have performed in the market.

If you haven’t checked it out already, don’t miss our Galaxy S10 Plus review to find out what we think of it.