Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge - hit or a miss?

Shipping over 10 million units of its latest smartphone globally isn't anything new for Samsung . The company has achieved this in the past with the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S5 and now with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge combine. But does this mean Samsung has hit the bull's eye with these flagship smartphones? Not necessarily.

The Samsung Galaxy S4, launched in 2013, was a well-received smartphone . It managed to cross the 10-million mark in just 27 days, which was quick in comparison to its predecessors. It took Samsung much longer with Galaxy S (seven months), Galaxy S2 (five months) and Galaxy S3 (50 days) to cross the same mark. Last year, with the Galaxy S5, the company achieved the same number in just 25 days but it wasn't really a big hit. There were also reports indicating that the Galaxy S5 sold 12 million handsets in the first three months, whereas the Galaxy S4 crossed 16 million handsets. This contributed towards the decline in the profits of Samsung's smartphone division. That is why Samsung redesigned the Galaxy S6 from the scratch.

The company ditched the plastic body for the metallic casing. It did away with the removable battery and memory card slot too. The Galaxy S6 feels premium to hold (yet slippery for me). But will all this help Samsung to cross the ambitious 70 million units by the end of 2015 is still a big question. Specially, when rival Apple is yet to launch its flagship iPhone(s) for the year.

The price of the Samsung Galaxy S6 has witnessed a price drop and is now available for Rs 43,900 on online portals such as Flipkart and Amazon India. Last month, the flagship smartphone was launched for Rs 49,999. While my review unit worked decently well, many users have started complaining about the heating issue with the Galaxy S6, which is affecting the sales. However, Samsung has maintained the market operating price and the phone continues to retail at Rs 47,500 in offline retail. To boost the sales, the company is now offering freebies such as a wireless charger on the purchase of the Galaxy S6. This reminds me of the Samsung Galaxy S5, which also witnessed a significant price drop of Rs 15,000 within two months of going on sale.
 
Above all, the figures mentioned above are not the actual sales figures. These are mere shipment numbers and not the number of people owning Samsung Galaxy S6/S6 Edge smartphones. So the question - "whether the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge are a hit?"-still has no clear answer.