Are the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge going to be the phones that help Samsung stretch its lead over Apple in terms of overall handset sales? Reports over the weekend suggest the South Korean company has opened up display production at a new factory to meet demand for the curved Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone.
Anonymous sources “with direct knowledge of the matter” have been speaking to Bloomberg and say that a third factory is now making screens for the S6 Edge as demand “surges” for the eye-catching flagship phone. The move is going to enable Samsung to roll out 5 million screens a month rather than 2 million.
Both the Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge have met with approval from reviewers, and early indications are that Samsung is going to shift a substantial number of the phones this year. Despite selling more smartphones than anyone else across the world in recent times, the company was recently overtaken by Apple as far as U.S. sales are concerned.
While the extended display of the S6 Edge is a draw for buyers, it’s something of a headache for Samsung — because of the additional complications in the manufacturing process, the firm has previously warned that supplies of the phone might be restricted. If more screens are now in production, that should ease the problem and keep stock levels topped up.
After the launch of the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and Nexus 6 last year, the other major phone manufacturers have been playing catch up to get their flagship handsets for 2015 out into the market. At Mobile World Congress we saw the Samsung S6 phones and the HTC One M9, while Sony recently unveiled its new Xperia Z4. We’re still waiting for LG G4, but a launch event is scheduled for next week.
