Consumers outside Korea and the United States may have to wait for the new Galaxy Note 7 longer as its maker Samsung Electronics is said to be grappling with short supplies due to more-than-expected pre-orders for the premium big-screen phone.

According to foreign media reports on Monday, the electronics giant last week decided to put off the launch of the Galaxy Note 7 in Malaysia and the Netherlands. The smartphone was originally scheduled to be released in Malaysia late this month, but the date was pushed back to around mid-September. Its debut in Russia and Ukraine will also likely be pushed back by about 15 days from the original launching date - to September 16 in Russia and late September in Ukraine.

Such delays have become inevitable because pre-orders for Samsung Electronics’ latest premium smartphone from Korean and American consumers have been bigger than expected. The phone is released in the two regions this Friday.

According to local mobile carriers, the pre-order volume of the Galaxy Note 7 in Korea has exceeded 200,000 units in just two days, double that of its predecessor.

The new Galaxy Note 7 with upgraded features including a much-improved pen stylus and iris scanner raised much hype since its unpacking earlier this month.

Samsung Electronics is known to have decided to reschedule the release dates in other countries to help smooth supply of the smartphone. It claimed that the phone will be available in other countries by late September at the latest, according to an unnamed official at the smartphone industry.

Continued strong demand for Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S7 series that were rolled out early this year also partly contributed to shortage of supplies in the bigger-screen phone with the same S7 spec plus iris scanner.

The company needs to use more lines in Vietnam, its major smartphone production base, to increase production of the Galaxy Note 7, but still strong demand for the Galaxy S7 series has delayed the company’s conversion of lines in Vietnam dedicated to the Galaxy S7 production into those for the Galaxy Note 7.

The industry forecasts that the company will sell 18 million units of the Galaxy S7 and Note7 together in the third quarter ended September. The company sold 16 million units of the Galaxy S7 in the second quarter.

By Lee Seung-hoon

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