Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is outselling standard Galaxy S6, despite premium price

Phone-maker rewarded for taking a risk with phone design?

Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Edge variant is selling faster than the standard Galaxy S6, with tech fans seemingly happy to pay extra for a handset that stands out amid a sea of identikit, slab-shaped smartphones.

Of pre-orders taken by uSwitch Tech for the Galaxy S6 since it became available on March 20th, 53% are for the more costly sloped screen-toting Edge iteration.

To put that in some kind of context in terms of comparative pricing, the cheapest Galaxy S6 Edge contracts that include a free phone start at £48.50 per month.

If you want the Galaxy S6 on a free-phone deal, though, you’re looking at minimum outlay of £34.50 per month.

That works out at a difference of £336 over the course of a two-year contract. A not inconsiderable sum by anyone’s measure, right?

So what to read into this?

Well, at first sight those healthy, swelling S6 Edge sales appear to indicate substantial pent-up demand for phones with fresh form factors.

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That ties in with consumers’ concomitant waning interest in new smartphones with disappointingly familiar features that don’t offer a compelling reason to upgrade – a phenomenon we’ve dubbed ‘handset fatigue’.

But that’d perhaps be a somewhat hasty conclusion to draw. Right now, anyway.

That’s because it’s also possible that the early adopters who are buying the S6 Edge at the moment are generally more inclined to want a handset that stands out from the crowd and are prepared to pay a premium to ensure they get it before the rank and file.

Whether their ‘I’ll-have-the-hot-new-thing-at-any-cost’ handset-buying priorities are reflected by the wider base of consumers has yet to be seen. Although, we rather suspect not.

But for the sake of innovation and to encourage other phone-makers to take similar risks with handset design, we’d love to be proved wrong.

Sold on the S6 Edge? Or is it just a gimmick? Let us know in the comments section below

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Posted in: Consumer trends,Galaxy mobile phones,New mobile phones,Samsung,Samsung Galaxy S6,Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge,Upcoming mobile phones