The Galaxy Gear may not have garnered the rave reviews that Samsung was hoping for but sales so far appear to have been stronger than many expected. Billing it as “the world’s most popular smartwatch,” Samsung today announced that sales have topped 800,000 units since it went on sale two months ago. It added that sales to date have exceeded its own expectations.
Samsung has heavily marketed the Galaxy Gear so far and there are no plans to let up as the holiday shopping season kicks off. It plans to expand sales promotions to maintain the momentum. It remains to be seen if these will include a price cut to drop its CA$329.99 price.
Also likely to help is Samsung’s plan to expand compatibility of the Galaxy Gear to more devices. Initially only compatible with the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition), it will soon expand to include the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S4 mini, Galaxy S4 Active, Galaxy Mega 5.8, Galaxy Mega 6.3 and Galaxy S4 zoom. Depending on the device, Samsung will either do so through an Android upgrade or through a separate software update.
The encouraging sales numbers may mean that Samsung could opt to take a bit more time to develop its next generation of smartwatches. Recent rumours had hinted at an early 2014 launch for the Galaxy Gear 2.
Source : Reuters