Samsung creates strong impact with Samsung S8, rebounds from Note 7 debacle: Report

According to Gartner, Samsung S8 and S8 Plus have had a strong impact so far in 2017 as users are undeterred by battery issues that affected the Note 7 at the end of 2016.

And what could be icing on the cake for Samsung and other premium phone brands is that the report also points out that consumers are now moving towards higher priced and “premium phones” from basic and low-cost phones.

The report said the smartphone market is now more dependent on new devices that offer something different, as users are extending their purchasing cycles and need to be enticed to make a replacement.

Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner, said "This good start points to a rebound for Samsung. Continued premium smartphone growth in 2017 will also be highly dependent on the forthcoming anniversary edition of Apple's iPhone, which should bring more-drastic feature and design upgrades than the last few iterations.”

Samsung and Apple have been two key players in the premium segment and Apple’s new iPhone will certainly have an impact on Samsung’s market. Also, the new iPhone is the most awaited smartphone of the year even more than usual as it is Apple’s 10th anniversary and it is expected to be a power packed phone. Apple has hinted on some new technologies and functionalities that may also appear in the next iPhone in areas like augmented reality and improved machine learning.

With more and more useful features and design upgrades, end-users are making a move from basic phones to higher-end phones, Gartner said the "basic" smartphone market is expected to record 686 million shipments in 2017, up 6.8% from 2016.

Cozza said consumers have already accepted the greater value attained from the better capabilities of basic smartphones, compared to low-end utility devices.

"Therefore, the average selling prices of mid- and high-range smartphones continue to increase.
"The Chinese players currently pushing basic smartphones with premium feel and features into the market will continue to strengthen the shift away from low-end utility phones toward basic smartphones," she said.