Samsung says 80 lakh Galaxy Gear smartwatches sold, not 50,000 as analysts claim
Samsung has refuted recent industry reports that its Galaxy gear smartwatch has sold only 50,000 units by disclosing that it has actually sold 800,000 units worldwide in just two months, despite strong negative reviews.
Samsung has contradicted recent industry reports that its Galaxy gear smartwatch has managed a sales volume of only 50,000 units, by disclosing its smartwatch sales figure, claiming it to be 800,000 units since its launch in late September.
Samsung is clearly refuting market analysts that the accessory would fail due to lack of features, saying that the Gear sales have surpassed its own expectations and that it would invest in more sales promotion for the smartwatch for the crucial year end holiday season. The Korean giant is of the opinion that the Gear is now the “most sold wearable watch available in the marketplace,” which, if it turns out to be true, would give a hard time to the efforts from Pebble and Sony. “It’s the most sold wearable watch available in the market place…and we plan to expand its availability by expanding mobile devices that work with the Gear,” said Samsung in a statement.
The Galaxy Gear smartwatch received a lot of hype and media attention from Samsung. The Korean giants just used “Royals” by Lorde in an ad called “The Developer” featuring the $300 Galaxy Note 3 ($700 unlocked!) and $300 Galaxy Gear smartwatch. Apart from this, high profile campaigns with fashion houses and celebrities (including the likes of Lionel Messi) were also a part of the marketing campaign for the smartwatch. However, critics and consumer tech analysts were not so impressed by the Galaxy Gear smartwatch, citing its obnoxious price at $300, poor battery life and very limited functionality. The smartwatch is now selling at Rs.22,900 in India.
Well known tech analyst David Pogue, who recently started a new consumer tech website at Yahoo, described it as “inconsistent and frustrating” and recommended nobody to go for it. Even The Verge’s review of the smartwatch isn’t very encouraging managing a score of 4 out of 10. Industry analysts also claim that the purpose of Samsung’s hasty release of the smartwatch was to create a reputation of creating the world’s first smartwatch.
Mobile device industry analysts say, “These Samsung products are more of a test than revolutionary,” and added, “Customers and producers have more interest in Samsung’s next models for release next year”.
There has been a latest update that while Reuters has reported consumer sales, Korean journal Yonhap says that Samsung is probably referring to shipments to retailers. The same Korean publication also states that the 50,000 sales figure actually relates to sales in South Korea only.
Source: Reuters, TheVerge, Yonhap, BusinessKorea