Samsung Galaxy S6 Release: Company Expects Record Sales, Supply Constraints For Galaxy S6 Edge

Samsung said Thursday that its new Galaxy S6 smartphones will set a new sales record for the company’s high-end handset segment as it faces tough competition from arch-rival Apple and Chinese smartphone manufacturers.

Together with its curved-edge variant, called the Galaxy S6 Edge, the new Galaxy S6 is scheduled to be released in 20 countries, including South Korea, Germany, India, Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. on Friday. Unveiled in March, both the handsets have received positive reviews, prompting hopes of a big comeback for the South Korean electronics maker after a recent profit slump.

“Given the response from the market and clients ... we expect the S6 to set a sales record for all Galaxy models,” Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Lee Sang-Chul, executive vice president and head of mobile sales at Samsung, as saying.

Signs that Samsung is confident about turning things around with the help of the Galaxy S6 models were evident on Tuesday when the company released its better-than-expected profit forecast for the first quarter of 2015.

According to the company, consolidated operating profit for the three months ended March 31 are expected to rise to 5.9 trillion won ($5.44 billion), a sequential increase of 11.5 percent from the previous quarter.

While investors and analysts said that strong demand for the Galaxy S6 Edge could drive earnings for the company’s struggling mobile division, J.K. Shin, the head of Samsung’s mobile unit, said that there could be supply constraints in the near future for the curved-screen model, AFP reported.

“I think there will be some supply shortage for a while although we're trying our best,” Shin said.

Although Samsung has opted to use its own mobile processor and modem chips in the new Galaxy S6 models, the company is keen on continuing its partnership with Qualcomm as it could use the U.S. chip maker’s products for new devices, Reuters reported, citing Shin.