Galaxy S9 was already off to a less than stellar start when reportsemerged that the pre-order levels and first-day sales were a lot lowerthan the Galaxy S8. Now, Samsung really has something to worry about;apparently,South Koreans aren’t too enthusiastic about Samsung’s latest offerings and might give it a pass.

Galaxy S9 Has Been Underperforming in Contrast to the Galaxy A8 Series, According to an Insider

Citing an insider from the retail industryviaBusiness Korea, even the Galaxy A8 series had performed better than the Galaxy S9 series lineup in the initial days after the launch. The report says that Galaxy A8 (2018) and Galaxy A8+(2018) remainedpopular with the younger population, while the Galaxy S9 is just seen as a mere incremental upgrade over the last year’s models. Right now, the Galaxy A8 lineup is the best-selling series in Korea, while Galaxy S8 is performing well too.

Apart from the fact that the Galaxy S9 lineup has brought hardly anything earthshakingly new to the table, the recent $45.5 million penalty imposed by the South Korean government on the top three mobile carries in the country might have impacted theGalaxyS9 sales too. The carriers were reprimanded for giving illegal subsidies to smartphones and they have since brought the subsidies down as per the government’s instructions.

Where the Galaxy S8 could have been bought for less than $200 last yearunder a certain string on conditions and requirements, the successors cost more just less than $420 after discounts and plans.

Customers who have been wooed by the new features like the variable aperture camera, Super Slow motion videorecording, and AR Emoji might cave in and buy the device no matter what the price is, but a large majority is more likely to wait for Galaxy S9’s successor, which may or may not be calledtheGalaxy S10.

News Source: Business Korea