Samsung Note20 orders outshine Note10 series by 40% in GCC markets

5G-enabled variants of Samsung's latest series constitute almost 80% of total orders

Osman Albora, senior director - mobile division at Samsung Gulf Electronics, predicts new launches will boost the company's overall growth this year. Courtesy Samsung

Samsung registered a 40 per cent increase in orders for its newly launched Galaxy Note20 series phones in the Gulf region, significantly higher than the number of orders it received for the Note10 series, according to a senior company official.

Orders for the latest offering from Samsung were even higher in the UAE, 52 per cent more than the Note10 series, Osman Albora, senior director – mobile division at Samsung Gulf Electronics, told The National.

“The Note20 series facilitates work and play. It brings the capabilities of a PC as well as a phone in the hands of consumers,” Mr Albora said, without disclosing the number of the orders.

The South Korean consumer electronics giant launched two 5G-enabled models – the Note20 and the Note20 Ultra – in Dubai on Wednesday, starting their region-wide sale. The company started taking advance orders for the devices on August 5, when they were launched globally.

Despite a tough market for consumer electronics, Samsung is very “confident and has high expectations from the new phones”, said Mr Albora.

The pandemic has changed consumers preferences and “people have started using smartphones much more [than in the past]," Mr Albora said.

More consumers are opting for 5G-enabled variants, as their orders constitute almost 80 per cent of total in the region.

"Staying connected has never been more important, as we have been propelled into the new normal,” he said. “We see 5G as one of the future enablers."

The company had launched its 5G-enabled phones with the Note10 series in August last year and since then it has introduced many variants to the market. Sales data show the company is on the right track and is aligned with what its customers want, he added.

With a 17.52-centimetre curved display, the Note20 Ultra has three cameras on the back. Its starting price in the UAE is Dh4,499.

The Note20 models have a smaller flat display at 17.01cm and is Dh3,549 in the Emirates.

The new phones also have larger storage capacity – 8GB to 12GB RAM and 128GB to 512GB internal storage space.

“We have a very positive outlook for [the] future … we are confident that current as well as future launches will propel our momentum further and help to increase our market share significantly in the region,” said Mr Albora.

“We held a 38.4 per cent market share in the UAE in the first half of this year. In the premium segment [priced $600 or above], we hold 33 per cent market share - almost 6 per cent more than the last year,” he said, citing, data from German researcher GFK's UAE panel market report.

Mr Albora, declined to share the launch date of the company’s new foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Fold2, in the region.

“We will announce it soon, sometime in September ... we believe in [the] foldable category and are very committed to it,” he said.