Tepid reception for the Samsung Galaxy S9 in Korea

20 March 2018
The Koreans aren't thrilled about the Galaxy S9, describe it as "just a new smartphone".

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • SpE
  • 21 Mar 2018

Anonymous, 21 Mar 2018Oh! What a shame! They thought that they are Apple now that... moreThere's no reason to defend it, it will sell as well as it sells and it will still be a great phone regardless. More could be done with it but compare it to iphone x which basically just copied a lot of old tech like wireless charging as well and it's not all that different. The new Sony's don't have any new magic, nor the Huawei (except a weird triple camera idea but I doubt that really appeals or is necessary for most people) or most any other new phones at the moment.

Wait until we get real sales figures anyway, descriptions like 'tepid' don't give a real indication of actual sales.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • vV5
    • 21 Mar 2018

    Anonymous, 21 Mar 2018Oh! What a shame! They thought that they are Apple now that... moreWhat a troll.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • UD{
      • 21 Mar 2018

      Oh! What a shame! They thought that they are Apple now that can sell expensive phones? Samsung will always be full of gimmicks and a copycat. LOL. Where are the samboys now? How are you gonna defend it now?

        • B
        • Bozzor
        • Hkx
        • 21 Mar 2018

        This is a worry for Samsung as well as Apple...: whilst there are a number of people who are early adopting technology enthusiasts who can afford and are willing to every year or so shelve out ~$1,000 for a smartphone, many people simply won't do that and require generous carrier subsidies and other incentives in order to upgrade.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • vV5
          • 21 Mar 2018

          So the main reason for the lacklustre sales is the reduction of subsidies. Nothing to do with the phones themselves, really.

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • yAL
            • 21 Mar 2018

            What do people expect anyway, it's just 1 year and no one has to upgrade their phone within a year.

              • J
              • JustTHAT
              • sxr
              • 21 Mar 2018

              Anonymous, 20 Mar 2018That's bad considering it's the best smartphone out right n... morePeople aren't buying it not because it looks almost identical to S8's design, they don't buy it because of how it is priced right now. It's just too expensive and people don't want to waste too much money on a smartphone anymore, specially now that smartphone companies aren't really giving much leaps and bounds in technological hardware advances compared to previous years.

              S9 is a good phone, that at least I will not deny but you also cannot deny the fact that the S9 is just a mediocre upgrade of the S8 that only fixes a few things that should have been in the S8 in the first place. Yes, S9 has variable aperture but not everyone needs it or even cares about it, same with the slow-mo camera. Also, if you are wise enough and want to save money, you'd either rather just buy an S8 that gives you 70% of the S9 experience or just skip entirely and just wait for the Samsung X (10th) edition.

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                • AnonD-734382
                • 7t%
                • 20 Mar 2018

                SohailSays, 20 Mar 2018GSMArena, why are you so slow in covering a news from tech ... moreExactly! I love and enjoy the experience here at Gsmarena, and I can't wait to read tech news from this site each new morning. But I often find the newest mobile (and related) news on my Facebook feed, which I wouldn't want to read first from, so I would always immediately visit Gsmarena only to find that that particular news wasn't there yet.. Otherwise I love how Gsmarena writes their stories, add some more comment which would either be funny or informative! Please Gsmarena, do better! We love you and have great expectations from you!

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • 8Vt
                  • 20 Mar 2018

                  jack, 20 Mar 2018no improvement beside hardware & camera, better keep my... moreYes, wait for s10+, I have a note 8, and I will keep it untill note 10 arrives

                    • j
                    • jack
                    • U}}
                    • 20 Mar 2018

                    no improvement beside hardware & camera, better keep my s8+ for now

                      • D
                      • AnonD-385420
                      • amH
                      • 20 Mar 2018

                      How many times that Samsung as copied the same path as Apple as always back-fired on Samsung,we lost Samsungs best phone option the removal battery because Apple never offered it,then we lost the micro sd card slot on the S6 and Note 5 phones because Apple never offered it,then there Sales were not so good,now Samsung as done the Same as Apple again,used the same phones body but just offered updates in the camera and Chips,and the copied Apple again Over Pricing the S9 phones,just wish Samsung would think about trying to please it Galaxy phone users instead of thinking what Apple as to offer or loads of Galaxy phones users will start to look for a more affordable smartphones and leave Samsung

                        • D
                        • AnonD-739791
                        • Y2P
                        • 20 Mar 2018

                        Good news for Samsung overall, but they really cannibalized their flagship by making the mid-range phone into what I think is virtually an S8. Samsung, you played yourself.

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • 8Vt
                          • 20 Mar 2018

                          This is just like the iphone 7 and iphone 8, looking almost identical made the 8 to sell less units than expected, most certainly the upcoming note 9 will not change much visually from note 8

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • SpI
                            • 20 Mar 2018

                            AnonD-529878, 20 Mar 2018S9+ is much better than S8+. Coming from S8 to S9 makes no ... moreAgreed, it's very rare that moving from one phone to the very next one released will make you a happy bunny. S8 was quite cool cos it looked different with the infinity display and the wireless charging but the wireless charger is separate and honestly, any muppet can use a wire and stop acting like it's amazing to charge wirelessly. That just leaves the visual change which still makes you end up with not a huge difference on the inside (still made it really nice to use though which is it's own thing). I suppose they did add Bixby as well though.

                            My main use for phones is just music (stereo speakers was a good addition), camera (variable aperture was useful) and then just good all round design which it is now meant to be sturdier than the S8. The new processor helps with battery efficiency too. It's rarely worthwhile to move from one phone to the very next, I'd never do it with near any phone unless luck had it that it was the exact features I wanted and even then I'd more than likely wait until the next release anyway as it'd be the same features plus whatever is new that time. I also upgraded from s6 edge + and I love the S9, it's a great phone and it wins the edge + on everything.

                              • D
                              • AnonD-529878
                              • S1C
                              • 20 Mar 2018

                              Anonymous, 20 Mar 2018Your edge+ has better design. Yeah, design is awesome, but it has big bezels and that annoying home button.

                                • D
                                • AnonD-1825
                                • p7H
                                • 20 Mar 2018

                                Anonymous, 20 Mar 2018Mediocre hardware? Samsung literally supply every other pho... moreWho uses Samsung camera? I think most of them use Sony camera, Samsung included.

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • JpI
                                  • 20 Mar 2018

                                  AnonD-529878, 20 Mar 2018S9+ is much better than S8+. Coming from S8 to S9 makes no ... moreYour edge+ has better design.

                                    Part of the reason of poor initial sales is its price. Galaxy S9+ (64GB) in Korea is sold at $982 USD equiv. (including 10% VAT) More expensive than S8+. Korean wireless carriers are subsidizing meagerly for Galaxy S9. Instead, Galaxy S8 is now heavily subsidized. The unchanged exterior design of Galxy S9, which is almost undistinguishable from S8 of last year, failed to entice Korean consumer to upgrade to S9. They find no reason to change to Galaxy S9.

                                    But even considering such situation, the consumer interest for Galaxy S9 seems to be unusually lukewarm at best. The actual sale number of S9 seems to be almost half of last year when Galaxy S8 came out. The sales outlook for Galaxy S9 seems not so bright. Actually looks grim to me.

                                      SohailSays, 20 Mar 2018GSMArena, why are you so slow in covering a news from tech ... moreThis is exactly what i said not so long ago for gsma team, and now after the MWC hypes they seem to be very slow to update their feeds eventhough it is not a weekend. I know you can do better gsmarena!

                                        • D
                                        • AnonD-529878
                                        • S1C
                                        • 20 Mar 2018

                                        S9+ is much better than S8+. Coming from S8 to S9 makes no sense yeah, but from S8+ ...

                                        I upgraded from Edge+ and the diff is big, totally worth it. And no matter how it looks, makes zero sense changing phones every year, even 2 years is bit often.