We keep saying it, but the Galaxy A lineup is hugely important to Samsung’s overall sales. It is therefore particularly scrutinized by professionals in the sector.
Based on a source kept secret, the South Korean newspaper The Elec has just revealed that the production of the Galaxy A23 5G, one of the flagship models of the range, had drastically decreased in 2022. But caution is still in order.
The Samsung Galaxy A23 5G. © The Digital
According to the outlet, Samsung only manufactured 4 million units instead of the 12.6 million 5G models originally planned. A sharp drop in production of 70% for a device intended for small budgets, and supposed to be one of the bestsellers of the year.
We learn that Samsung had also planned to sell 17.1 million A23 4G. The two versions of the same model represented a production of approximately 30 million copies, or 10% of the total volume of smartphones produced by the firm.
A serious problem
Samsung would have made this decision after discovering a technical problem that occurred during the production launch. The latter would be due to the malfunction of one of the features specific to the model, but nothing more has been announced.
In any case, it seems to have been serious enough to put production on hold for a month. It must be said that there is also a 4G version of the mobile, with a different technical sheet, which must not have helped the engineers responsible for finding the problem. Especially since the parts suppliers have changed from one model to another and the two versions are not released at the same time.
The production of the smartphone was interrupted for a month. © VCG/VCG via Getty Images
This long interruption would have solved the problem, but forced the chaebol to limit the manufacture of this oh so strategic reference.
If the information is proven, it is a heavy setback for the South Korean. Indeed, Chinese competitors specializing in entry-level are likely to take advantage of such a windfall. This could therefore have serious repercussions on the financial results of the industry leader. According to the latest projections from the firm IDC, 1.24 billion smartphones should be sold worldwide in 2022, a decrease of 9.1% compared to 2021. And if we take the sales figures for the 3rd quarter 2022, Samsung is number 1 ahead of Apple and Xiaomi.