The world’s biggest smartphone maker is extending its lead over opponents in the race to put 5G devices in customers’ hands.
Samsung sold 6.7 million 5G smartphones in 2019 and presently accounts for more than half the world market, it announced Thursday. The South Korean tech giant surpassed its expectations, having set a sales goal for the year of around 4 million.
Samsung has first-mover benefit relating to smartphones that run on the new high-speed networks, beating its competitors to the blow when it rolled out the Galaxy S10 5G for Verizon customers in May last year. Apple, alternatively, is just not expected to have a 5G-enabled smartphone until the end of 2020.
Verizon was also the first carrier to supply a 5G-compatible phone when it launched its moto z3 smartphone. However, that phone required an auxiliary that hooked up to the again of the device to access the 5G community.
Samsung has since released four other 5G smartphones below its flagship Galaxy series — the Note 10 5G, Note 10+ 5G, A90 5G, and the Galaxy Fold 5G. The company will also deliver its first 5G tablet, the Galaxy Tab S6 5G, to customers in Korea in the first quarter of 2020.