Samsung has officially taken the wraps off its Galaxy Note 7 phablet. The device will hit the store shelves on August 19, roughly a month before arch-rival Apple’s iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are expected to be available in retail stores. The Galaxy Note 7 received a humongous 200,000 pre-orders in South Korea within just two days, according to a report from the Korea Herald. That’s twice the number of pre-orders the Galaxy S7 had received earlier this year in the same period.
Can Samsung steal customers from Apple?
Launching the Galaxy Note 7 a month ahead of the iPhone 7 could help Samsung steal customers from Apple, especially when the new iPhone isn’t expected to bring radical improvements. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are rumored to retain the design elements of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 7 packs an iris scanner, a curved screen, an impressive camera, waterproofing capability, and an upgraded S Pen stylus.
On the other hand, Apple has been witnessing a decline in iPhone sales and the company is considering switching to a 3-year upgrade cycle as there isn’t much room left for innovation. It means the iPhone will see a major upgrade in 2017. There are millions of iPhone 6 owners looking to upgrade this year. If the iPhone 7 turns out to be what rumors suggest, Samsung will have a pretty good chance to lure these customers.
Samsung’s aggressive marketing to boost Galaxy Note 7 sales
The Galaxy Note 7 is coming at a time when phablets have been growing in popularity, even as the overall smartphone industry slows down. Samsung got it right with the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. And the company is going all out to ensure that the Note 7 turns into a grand success. In South Korea, the electronics giant is offering the Gear Fit 2 as a gift with the Note 7. Samsung will also pay 50% of the repair costs if the screen gets broken.
In the United States, Samsung is offering users a choice of a free Gear Fit 2 or a 256GB microSD card on the Galaxy Note 7 purchase. Neil Mawston of Strategy Analytics told Digital Trends that Samsung could ship as many as 15 million units of Galaxy Note 7 worldwide in the second half of 2016.
