Samsung Galaxy S9 Breaks Galaxy S Record For Poor Sales

If you’re a Samsung fan, be prepared to pour one out. The last thing I wanted to do was bait and switch you into a disappointing news story, so I put it all there in the headline, like ripping a bandage off quickly. Yes, the Samsung Galaxy S9 broke a record. No, it is not a good thing.

Historically, Galaxy S phones have launched at the end of the first quarter, and because of this second-quarter sales always surpass first-quarter sales. It makes total sense, giving the short timeframe within the first quarter that Samsung has to move units. That’s how it’s always gone, with the phone booming in the second quarter. That trend has officially stopped.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 is the first phone in the line’s eight-year history to experience fewer sales in the second quarter. The launch followed the same pattern as all the other launches, with the Galaxy S9 releasing in March of this year, right before the quarter ends. And yet, in that very short time frame, it sold more phones than it did in the entire three months of quarter two. Ouch.

What this tells us is that the Galaxy S name is strong, because 10 million consumers picked up the phone in the roughly three weeks after launch. The phone’s staying power is questionable, however, as that number dropped to nine million in Q2. Samsung isn’t trying to hide the fact that sales have dropped, citing rising competition. That said, the Galaxy S line has been an industry powerhouse for years, and the idea of them eventually being dethroned is borderline surreal.

Is the Galaxy S9 a precursor of things to come? Or will the Galaxy Note 9, which ships August 9th, right the ship?