Ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S4’s global launch we look at expected availability and how it may be affected by problems abroad
The much awaited Samsung Galaxy S4 will be available to the public next Friday 26 April 2013. As the leading smartphone brand, demand is expected to be excellent. With ‘high alert’ tension in Korea, production and supply of the Galaxy S4 could be under threat. Is the Galaxy S4 likely to suffer shipment delays as those experienced by the HTC One ?
According to DigiTimes, 10 Million units of the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be available in 50 countries during the first month, with a further 30 Million units predicted to be shipped in Q2 of 2013. Sources suggest that so far Samsung has not reported any components shortages or supply difficulties. As demand for smartphones continues, and the popularity of Samsung increases, not to mention it’s huge advertising budget for the Galaxy S4, only time will tell if Samsung will be able to keep up with demand.
Samsung is well placed with handset manufacturing facilities not just in Korea but Vietnam and China as well. However, if tensions in Korea escalate, it may cause a logistical problem of transporting components produced in Korea to the Samsung handset production facilities in either Vietnam or China.