Samsung’s chief of all things mobile J.K. Shin has warned that supply constraints could restrict availability of its Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone. According to Reuters, Shin has announced production yields of the phone’s unique curved display are low, meaning they haven’t made enough for the company to be able to keep up with demand. Samsung is “working hard to resolve the difficulty in supply”. The issue will not affect the normal Galaxy S6, with its far easier flat display.
The S6 Edge and the regular S6 have been getting glowing reviews and it is expected to outsell the abysmal Galaxy S5 they replace. The S5 was a bit of a flop in the otherwise strong S range for the company, with the S4 being their finest moment. Combine the poor sales on the S5 with the ever growing challenge of facing off against Apple, which has seriously affected Samsung Mobile’s financial performance. With the outlook for its most recent quarter not looking great, it’s counting on these two flagships to revitalise its still very successful division.
The new flagships will be sold worldwide with Samsung’s in house Exynos chips inside. Although each iteration of Galaxy S devices has launched with a new Samsung chip, for many years the company has opted for Qualcomm Snapdragon processors over Exynos for the North American market, costing its semi-conductor division millions of chip sales. That trend ends tomorrow, when both the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge go on sale in 20 countries worldwide.