Samsung says S23 smartphone sales ahead of S22 with most people buying the priciest ‘Ultra’ model

BARCELONA, Spain — Sales of Samsung’s Galaxy S23 flagship smartphone have outstripped final yr’s S22 in a comparative interval with the vast majority of patrons choosing the most costly model of the system, an government on the South Korean expertise large instructed CNBC.

Samsung launched the Galaxy S23 this month. The sequence options three fashions: the usual S23, a barely costlier S23+ and the top-of-the-line S23 Ultra. The S23 Ultra begins at $1,200.

Patrick Chomet, government vp at Samsung Electronics, instructed CNBC in an interview that in comparison with final yr, S23 gross sales are a lot better up to now than the S22. The S23 went on sale on Feb. 17.

Chomet added that Samsung has dedicated to “double-digit growth” within the premium section of its smartphones in 2023, which incorporates the Galaxy S23 sequence but additionally its newest foldable telephones which have been launched final yr.

“So we are on the premium segment, despite the difficult economic environment, we see a steady opportunity for us. And the reason is we are very competitive, because we have brought a lot of innovation in that segment,” Chomet stated in an interview on the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday.

Chomet revealed that the most costly model of the flagship telephones — the S23 Ultra — accounted for about 60% of world S23 pre-orders.

“We expect, kind of, a healthy portion of the mix, to be skewed to toward the premium,” Chomet stated.

The preliminary gross sales of the S23 might be welcome news for Samsung which had a tricky yr within the smartphone market in 2022. Overall smartphone shipments final yr recorded their worst yr since 2013, in accordance with analysis agency IDC. Samsung shipments fell greater than 15%, IDC stated. The droop was on account of inflation and a worsening outlook for the economic system.

Operating revenue within the firm’s cellular and networks business fell 16% year-on-year in 2022.

But there may be nonetheless demand for costly smartphones. High-end smartphones, those who value over $800, accounted for 18% of the whole handset market in 2022, up from 11% in 2020, Canalys knowledge exhibits.

That’s the place Samsung is hoping to develop its smartphone business which might provide the corporate probably larger margins and higher income.

Chomet stated the upper share of S23 Ultra pre-orders is an “indication that even though people are more careful” within the premium section of the smartphone market there are nonetheless lots of people “who want the best of the best.”