Skip to main content

Huge pre-order numbers mean Samsung can taste success with the Galaxy Note 7

galaxy note 7 pre order record beating news samsung home 1500x1000
Jeffrey Van Camp/Digital Trends
The Galaxy Note 7, Samsung’s latest smartphone, is apparently well on its way towards success. Pre-orders in South Korea began on August 6 through the three major networks — SK Telecom, LG Uplus, and KT Telecom — and according to a local report, 200,000 people rushed out to secure one for themselves in just two days.

Quoting industry data, rather than Samsung itself, the report says this is twice the number who pre-ordered the Galaxy S7 over the same period earlier this year, and is the highest recorded for a Galaxy smartphone. This bodes well for the Note 7. The Galaxy S7 Edge is currently the most popular Android phone in the world, according to Strategy Analytics, with more than 13 million already sold. The Galaxy S7 is close behind with nearly 12 million. According to Neil Mawston, Executive Director at the company, the S7 Edge’s popularity is at least partly due to, “its attractive curved hardware design blended with a sidebar of apps that consumers find easy to use.”

Sound familiar? The Galaxy Note 7 is at its heart a Galaxy S7 Edge with a stylus, with the added bonus of cutting edge security features. Anyone tempted by a Galaxy S7 Edge will be looking at a Note 7 as well. Mawston told Digital Trends in an email, “We forecast Samsung to ship 15 million Galaxy Note 7 units worldwide in the second half of 2016. We expect the Note 7 to be one of the world’s top-five best-selling smartphones in the second half of this year.”

Samsung’s doing its very best to attract people to the big-screen phone in South Korea, offering local buyers a free Gear Fit 2 fitness tracker with each order, and a promise that if the phone’s screen gets broken, it’ll stump up half the cost to get it repaired. Additionally, each Note 7 owner gets a gift card for use in Samsung’s local online store. Pre-orders have also started in the U.S., while networks and retailers in the U.K. will begin taking orders from August 16. Samsung in the U.S. is giving you the choice of a free Gear Fit 2 or a massive 256GB MicroSD card if you order the Galaxy Note 7, while in the U.K., the new style Gear VR headset will come with the phone, if you’re quick.

Samsung certainly wants to make sure those with at least $850 to spend on a smartphone don’t wait around to see what Apple reveals in the near future, and it appears to be working.

Editors' Recommendations

Andy Boxall
Senior Mobile Writer
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
Goodbye Samsung Galaxy Note 20, you were a terrible phone
Galaxy Note 20 Back

There are many reasons to love Samsung. It has a broad range of good (often great) devices, solid software, and the ability to interconnect smart devices better than most Android manufacturers -- but the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 is not one of the reasons. In fact, it's a terrible smartphone, and after swapping to the Google Pixel 7 Pro, I can finally purge myself of this experience and move on.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 was one of the worst phones I've ever used, and you should thank your good fortune if you didn't buy it. If you did, I feel your pain.
The Note 20 was already the unloved sibling
The Galaxy Note 20 (left) and Note 20 Ultra (right). Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Read more
Samsung’s One UI 5 beta is already available for some Galaxy S22 owners
Purple Samsung Galaxy S22 front and back.

Samsung's One UI 5 beta is beginning to roll out for select Galaxy S22 owners via the Samsung Members app. Today, Samsung announced the early rollout would be exclusive to Germany, South Korea, and the U.S. — but it quickly pulled the announcement from its website without a replacement (likely a sign that the post went up earlier than it should have). While Samsung works on getting its timing right, folks who've gotten early access to One UI 5 have taken to Twitter to show off the new features.

As expected, One UI 5 puts customization at the forefront of the update. Now, Galaxy users will have nearly endless options when it comes to how they want their UI to look. Early examples that we've seen on Twitter include things such as expanded color options, widget stacking, and more ways than ever before to customize notification settings. All of this was detailed in the pulled presser that Samsung officially posted earlier today, in addition to details regarding other new features coming with the update.

Read more
Samsung’s self-repair program launches for Galaxy S21, S20, and Tab S7 Plus
Vision Booster on the Galaxy S22 Ultra, with the S21 Ultra.

Earlier this year, Samsung announced that it would allow Galaxy device owners the option to repair their gadgets themselves. A few months later, the company's self-repair program has finally gone live. Launching for the Galaxy S21 and S20 lines of smartphones, as well as the Tab S7 Plus, device owners won't need to discard their smartphones and tablets if they're malfunctioning. Instead, they can purchase repair parts and tools for quick, do-it-yourself fixes.

While device repair might sound like a daunting endeavor, Samsung is providing full access to online repair guides that give step-by-step instructions on how to fix specific issues and replace crucial elements. Additionally, replacement parts and repair tools will be available through a handful of retailers, including iFixit, Samsung 837, and Samsung retail stores.

Read more