By 
In news that shouldn’t shock many at all, it has been recently revealed that the Samsung Galaxy S4 has shipped over six million units as of May 10th. That number would make this device the fastest selling smartphone in Samsung history, though such a feat wasn’t hard to predict after Samsung reached impressive heights with the Samsung Galaxy S3. The company’s aggressive marketing campaign also helped, as they aggressively targeted Apple consumes and touted new innovative features.
It’s worthy to note that shipment numbers and sell-through rates aren’t the same thing, but we have a feeling those six million units sitting in carrier and retailer warehouses will have no problem being moved over the course of the next month or two. Samsung might make even more waves today if recent rumors are to be believed.
The company is rumored to be announcing a Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition, which would essentially be a Galaxy S4 without TouchWiz. We’re not sold on it just yet, but considering we’re just under an hour away from the Google IO keynote the wait to see if this rumor is true won’t be unbearably long.
Samsung has a major advantage these next few months, with its biggest competitor — Apple — said to be skipping the entire summer without a device launch. That gives Samsung plenty of time to show folks just how nice the device is and entice them to drop $200 or more on it. Our Samsung Galaxy S4 review alluded to how great the device was. Even though it was more of an iterative release compared to the Galaxy S3, the device still came out on top of most of the rest of the smartphone pile.
Samsung’s only threat for the foreseeable future is the HTC One, a hot smartphone which folks believe is the Taiwanese company’s best work yet. Chris testified that much in his review of the device, praising HTC’s slick software and sleek hardware. It’ll be an interesting horse race between these two behemoths, though we imagine both companies will be happy with their respective results by the time it’s all said and done.
[via Chosun]
Congrats Sammy, you deserve it!
So its currently between android and android then. the way it was ment to be
my moneys on android
We win
6 million “shipped”… make it the fastest “selling”… in company history.
FACEPALM
SHIPPED does not equal SOLD.
The S3 shipped less at launch and sold a lot, this is excellent news from Samsung.
I made that point in the article. Did you read it or just the title?
So I guess all those S4’s just sitting around on retail store shelves are automatically considered “sold” then? Maybe it would be a good idea to change the title to reflect what is actually being stated- that “Samsung Galaxy S4′s 6 million shipments make it the fastest *shipping* smartphone in company history”
You made it a point to state “over the course of the next month or two” which does not mean “now”.
Extrapolation. That is all.
And you really think those phones are not going to sell? The Galaxy S4 will FLY off those shelves. I haven’t spoken to anyone yet who isn’t impressed with that phone.
It doesn’t matter whether you did or not. Shipped DOES mean sold. To distributors. Samsung doesn’t sell directly to consumers. They sell to ATT, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Best Buy, Cricket, WalMart, US Cellular, Target, Radio Shack, Costco, CSpire, etc. in the US. When you see a “shipped” stat release, YES INDEED, Samsung has sold those devices. What those distributors do with them is their issue. Of course, if those companies want to stay in business, they better RESELL them to the public. Apparently Albert didn’t graduate from business school.
FACEPALM.
Doesn’t mean that the retailers are stuck with the product. The retailer could negotiate a buyback contract where Samsung must buy back the unsold stock, albeit at a lower price than sold.
No.
#1 No Retail Products VP could authorize a purchase significantly less than consumer demand and keep his job for long (HTC First notwithstanding).
#2 Wholesale buyback contracts are even less flexible than retail customer return policies. Both do the same thing. So your point is moot. Just because I buy a phone through a retail distributor doesn’t mean that I’m “stuck with the product.” I can return it full price within time limits. Distributors cannot.
1) Understood… which is why they overpurchase so they can meet the demand. A buyback contract with Samsung means that SAMSUNG buys back the unsold stock. Retailers would take a small loss on each item they sell back to Samsung, but this is a way to split the unsold product risk among both parties.
I.E. Retailer A buys 100 phones at $50 a piece from Samsung. They sell each phone for $75. They sell 90 phones. They are left with 10. They sell back the 10 to Samsung for 25$ a piece. Retailer A makes $2250 – $250 (loss from selling back) = $2000 profits. Samsung makes $5000 – 250 (loss from buying back) = $4750.
2) Don’t understand what you mean by this. I’m not saying you are stuck with the phone. Distributors aren’t stuck with the phone either; they can sell it back to the regain some initial investment… with the buyback agreement.
Who do you think they’re shipping them to, Goodwill? No, they are filling retailer demand.
And the retailer doesn’t see a dime until *we* buy the product, at which point it is actually considered sold.
So you will agree then that all Apple, WP8 phones, and Blackberrys at the stores are sold?
I think “sold” means it is in the hands of the end user. Anything else is accounting tricks.
Not on our end but to Samsung yes since what they ship is whats bought from them by carries, stores, etc.. so yeah to them they have “sold” what they ship.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7zfnbdyAW8
genius..
They sell them to the distributors. Jack ass.
You’re right in a way.
But you should know that when the items leave the production plant/warehouses from Samsung and are shipped to the retailers and telcos they’re already paid for upfront.
At least this is how retailers and telcos work in EU.
They’re no franchise organisation who have stock from the manufacturer laying on the shelves and only have to pay for the units sold to customers (with or without a plan)
No, he’s wrong. Those devices are already paid for and Samsung has the check. That’s called a “sale.”
Whether it gets into the hands of a retail customer depends on the marketing teams of the distributors.
You mean Samsung gave them all away for free?
Samsheep.
Hahahhahaa im glad you’re mad. Keep hating.
I never said I was mad. Good for samsung.
There are specific reasons why Apple fanboys are called “sheep.” It’s not just that Apple products are popular. A product can be popular without having it’s customers be sheep. First and foremost, you need to unerringly and lovingly follow a shepherd to be a sheep. Steve Jobs was that shepherd. Tim Cook is slowly losing the faith of the flock, but most still follow unerringly and lovingly as well. Ask 10 Samsung customers who buy Samsung phones who Kwon Oh Hyun is, or Lee Don-Joo, and people will say “Huh???”
One of the qualifications is that you need to follow a shepherd to be classified as a sheep.
Another is to reflexively and defensively call customers of all other popular products “sheep” because they didn’t choose your product.
-Whoops.
To the average person (not those of us who frequent tech blogs) There is the iPhone or the Galaxy. Although the Samsung is (clearly) better than any iphone, its popular enough now that people will buy it simply because its “the new galaxy”. Samsheep.
Yes but we’re calling out all the Apple sheep who DO follow the tech blogs. (Walt Mossberg cough cough)
Sure. You maaddddd.
Yep, Grr.
No. Wrong. The title is totally misleading.
Devices *shipped* does not mean devices *sold*.
Learn the difference people.
That’s how all manufacturers report their figures so this is great news for Sammy.
I guess Apple isn’t included in this “all manufacturers” you speak of then.
Apple has retail stores. Samsung, LG, HTC, Motorola, etc. do not.
And that has impact on how the numbers are reported…. how? A product sold is a product sold, whether it’s in a company’s own retail store or a 3rd party’s like Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon, etc.
seems like you have been smacking that guy all day
Samsung has sold and booked the money, it is in their books. You mean retailers and distributors are fools to simply pay upfront and loadup a device which no one wants.
trollololololololololololollololol
Microsoft reports their consoles shipped as sold, while Sony reports them as consoles shipped. They’re the same thing. You won’t get far playing the semantics game.
Samsung copies everything else Apple does, so why not copy Apple and release the number of sales to END USERS??? That is the only way to truly measure how popular your product is. Besides, we all know how Sammy likes to play with numbers : http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/samsung-comes-clean-galaxy-tab-numbers-not-consumer-sales/775
:-)
It must drive you crazy today. Not only is google showing why apple has no clue about software from today’s I/O. But good old job’s reputation/legacy is being destroyed by the justice dept today as well.
http://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/apple-inc-aapl-justice-says-this-scheme-was-steve-jobs-idea-141878/
And then there is the report that shares of apple phones dropped in Q1 2013 due mostly to samsung.
http://www.valuewalk.com/2013/05/apple-inc-aapl-smartphone-sales-share-fell-in-q1-gartner/
Me on the other hand. I’m loving it today. Oh and aapl is down $14/share as well.
Here is my attempt to educate the blissfully ignorant: http://m.seekingalpha.com/article/1427871
I doubt if it will work….
Please see my response below to Albert.
Please stop whining about things you don’t understand.
Samsung doesn’t sell to consumers. They sell to distributors.
I understand where you’re coming from. But you need to understand there’s 2 ways of looking at this. There’s your way, in which you define a device sold as being from manufacturer to distributor. Then there’s the way the general public defines it, meaning the number of devices physically in consumers hands. Samsung has not gotten 6 million S4’s into people’s hands, and therefore has not sold that many.
This is how Android’s market share numbers get inflated, by the way :-)
No.
That’s how jealous trolls make excuses for Android’s dominance.
Dominance? What exactly is Android “dominating”? Profits? Nope….browser share? Nope….App store revenue? Nope….payout to developers? Nope. There is not a single meaningful advantage that Android’s “dominance” provides, other that to be able to say, “we sell waaaay more cheap, low-margin, non-profitable junk than you do”….nice “dominance” :-)
don’t feed the troll!
Translation: I have no valid rebuttal
trololololol? :D
The same principal is applied to every other phone on the market. Not just android. :)
Let me use your own language if you don’t mind.
Samsung does not sell phones “into people’s hands” and therefore will NEVER sell that many by your standard. Samsung sells to distributors. 6 million sales transactions occurred, and Samsung has the checks in the bank. It doesn’t matter what “the general public defines.” This is how business is done. End of story.
What you are really saying is that the DISTRIBUTORS have “not sold that many,” which is true. That has nothing to do with Samsung’s bottom-line. All that matters is if those DISTRIBUTORS continue to place orders. They could give all of their phones away to Liberia for charity, and as long as the DISTRIBUTORS keep placing more orders, Samsung will be happy, wealthy, and remain king of the smartphone world.
-Please note I do not own a Samsung phone.
There needs to be only 1 way to look at it. Samsung got paid for those 6 million units. Samsung doesn’t care if verizon paid them or billy bob jones paid them. The check is in the bank. The End.
Still waiting for Note 3 till I part with my Note 2
But how many people are regretting the purchase because of the exorbitant partioning for the OS being around 7 out of 16 GB?
Awesome now sell the new Google version with pure Android in black on Verizon for $199 and I’ll buy it.
Wait if this is just the number one device in compnay history, what’s the number one device in world history?