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Samsung Galaxy S8's pre-sales start in Korea on Friday

Posted April. 07, 2017 07:17,   

Updated April. 07, 2017 07:24

한국어

Samsung Electronics announced it will start to presell its newest flagship smartphones Galaxy S8 and S8+ on Friday. To this end, three major mobile carriers including SK Telecom, KT, and LG U+ have entered into a marketing race with record-breaking presale benefits.

According to the electronics giant on Thursday, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ with 4GB of RAM was priced at 935,000 and 990,000 won, respectively. When buyers subscribe for the smartphone, they will be able to launch service April 18, earlier than the official launching date of April 21. The Galaxy S8 comes in Midnight Black, Orchid Grey, and Arctic Silver, while its bigger and better version comes in Coral Blue and Orchid Grey. The Galaxy S8+ with 6GB of RAM will only be released in black at 1,155,000 won.

Industry experts expect the Galaxy S8 series will exceed presales that of the Galaxy Note 7 released last year, estimating the subscription to go well over the existing record at 400,000. A mobile communications expert predicted the initial success of the new series, saying, "The Galaxy S8 series have many appealing factors, such as near-zero bezel displays, design, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistant Bixby.” The smartphone manufacturer will provide various benefits for the buyers, including the “Samsung Mobile Care” program, which provides 50 percent subsidy for broken displays and free battery replacement for the first year, along with multimedia contents vouchers.

SK Telecom will introduce the “T Galaxy Club Zero” program, which allows T Samsung Card holders to write off their device installments when they fully use their discount benefits. When replaced with the new Galaxy S9 next year, up to 50 percent of the remaining installments for the device will be exempted.

KT has also introduced its “Galaxy S8 Change-up” plan, which compensates up to half the price of the factory price once Galaxy S8 buyers used the device for a year. The plan will provide various benefits when Galaxy S8 users turn in their one-year-old device and upgrade to the new Galaxy S or note series. Plan subscribers are expected to pay 3,300 won per month.

LG U+ will invite 8,888 participants until April 11 who will try out the Galaxy S8 for a month. In addition, the mobile carrier launched the “used phone price guarantee program,” which exempts up to 50 percent of the installment when Galaxy S8 users pay an additional 7,700 won per month and return their devices 18 months later.



Dong-Il Seo dong@donga.com · Hyun-Seok Lim lhs@donga.com