Galaxy S20 series sales numbers are worse than the S10 series'; S20+ the people's choice

Samsung released the Galaxy S20 series back in February. The phones were met with a mixed reception, mostly due to the arguable value for money offered, a result of a price hike that saw the cheapest device carry an MSRP of US$999, and the most expensive model cost a nigh-ridiculous US$1599. Well, it's been three months since the phones were released, and sales numbers are now out. The results? About expected.

Going by numbers published by Korean outlet TheElec citing market analytic firm Omdia, Galaxy S20 series sales numbers are down relative to the S10 series, and by a lot. Total sales for the Galaxy S20 series lineup comes out to 8.2 million units. In comparison, just the Galaxy S10 and S10+ sold a combined 10.3 million units over the same period. 

That figure isn't inclusive of Galaxy S10e and S10 5G sales, which are sure to account for an extra two to three million units conservatively. We're looking at a definitive 20% drop in sales at the very least, and potentially around 38% with an estimated 3 million units shipped total for the S10e and S10 5G.

The most popular phone this year, unsurprisingly, is the S20+. Samsung shipped 3.5 million units of the phone in its first quarter on the market. The most popular phone last year was the S10, of which 5.2 million units were sold over a similar period. That's a 32% drop in sales numbers. It's safe to say that the Galaxy S20 series has sold over 30% less than the S10 series did last year.

Of course, this was always expected. There are several possible reasons for it, the pandemic being the prime suspect. But it's hard not to wonder how much influence the S20 series' massive price tags and the well-known incompetence of the Exynos 990 had on the relatively poor sales of the phones.