Samsung to make even Galaxy A33 waterproof, aims for 22% of all 2022 phones
Buoyed by the upcoming release of the Galaxy S22 series, and the continued uptake of its foldable phones, Samsung has boosted its global market share forecast for 2022 to 21.9%, reports The Elec. Not only that, but it expects pent-up demand due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic to propel global mobile sales to 1.52 billion smartphones next year, of which it plans to ship more than 390 million.
Samsung's sales predictions breakdown pegs 33 million units for the Galaxy S22 series that is to be announced at a February Unpacked event. Most of those - 14 million - would go to the most affordable member of the series, the Galaxy S22, while the S22+ and S22 Ultra are supposed to fetch 8 million and 11 million sales units, respectively.
As usual, the bulk of Samsung's phone shipments is expected to be in the midrange A-series, with just the A23 and A33 models expected to sell at the 267 million mark, while the upper midrange A53 and A73 could bring another 92 million sales to Samsung's coffers.
In order to fend off the Chinese phone makers' onslaught that scooped up the bulk of Huawei's market share when the US introduced Android sanctions, Samsung will apparently be way more aggressive in marketing and new features, tips another Elec report. Its A-series has had an on/off relationship with water but nearly all of those will be made waterproof next year, starting as low as the affordable Galaxy A33.
Samsung is expected to release a Galaxy A33, A53, A53 5G, and A73 5G next, announced in the March to May timeframe, and all of them will have IP68 water-resistance certification. The world's largest cell phone maker is also going to simplify the surfacing technology that it uses for the rear of its phones, reducing the process to one layer of coating and color to simplify production.
Does this mean we should expect new colors in the A-series as are rumored for the S22 line? Remains to be heard, but here is Samsung's 2022 Galaxy S22, S21 FE, A53, and A73 announcement schedule:
- Samsung S21 FE - January 5th announcement and release
- Samsung S22 - February Unpacked event, March release
- Samsung A33 and A53 - March announcement and release
- Samsung A23 - April announcement and release
- Samsung A73 - May announcement and release
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