Samsung struggling to satisfy Galaxy S24 demand in world's fifth most populous country
From the US to India to South Korea, the Galaxy S24 is doing better than expected, leading Samsung to raise its production targets. It's now being reported that another market is ravenous for the South Korean giant's latest flagships and the company is currently struggling to meet demand.
Bloomberg reports that there is unprecedented demand for the Galaxy S24 series in Pakistan and supply has been gobbled up by the country's affluent customers.
Pakistan is the world's fifth-most populous country, which makes it an important market for smartphone manufacturers. The country is estimated to have 192 million mobile phone users.
Pakistan's government incentivizes smartphone manufacturers to assemble their phones in the country. Around 21 million handsets were manufactured domestically last year, mostly by local and Chinese brands. 1.7 million units were imported, per the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.
The Galaxy S24 is also assembled in the country, which gives it an edge over Apple as import tax is levied on the iPhone. The tax can be as high as $650, making iPhones prohibitively expensive in Pakistan.
While most smartphone stores are still marketing the Galaxy S24, they are out of stock. Samsung says it's working to resume sales of the phone.
Samsung Electronics is working hard to meet the demand of our customers, and we anticipate sales will resume shortly." - Samsung
This is another win for Samsung, especially considering that even though it's the world's seventh-largest smartphone market, Pakistan is not a rich country, and most people in the country go for affordable handsets.
For demand to be so overwhelmingly high for what are considered expensive phones the world over that Samsung is struggling to meet it, it must mean that the company has made phones that are deemed to be irresistibly good. Or maybe people in the country are plain reckless with their money? (JK).
Either way, this is just another sign that Samsung is recovering from the pandemic-induced slump, while Apple seriously needs to consider making a $250 phone.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: