File photo - A hostess shows up Samsung's new S9 (R) and S9 Plus devices after a presentation ceremony at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain Feb. 25, 2018. (REUTERS/Sergio Perez)
Something bad is happening with smart phone sales. And it's becoming a big problem for Samsung — and Apple.
Samsung sold 707,000 Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ units in March and April, collectively, Korea's The Investor is reporting, citing data obtained from the country's three biggest telecom partners. According to the report, that's the lowest sales figure mark ever posted for a Galaxy S handset during its first two months on store shelves.
To put that into perspective, during the same period in 2017, the Galaxy S8 line tallied nearly 1 million unit sales during its first two months of availability. What's worse, sales appear to be declining: Samsung carrier partners sold 476,000 Galaxy S9s in March and 231,000 in April.
The report is the latest in a string of rumors that Samsung's Galaxy S9 sales have been sluggish. In fact, a report earlier this year suggested that Samsung is pushing up the release of its Galaxy Note 9 to as early as July to bolster its smartphone division and keep its earnings up.
But it's not just Samsung.
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There have also been reports that Apple is suffering from poor iPhone X demand and could on Tuesday (May 1) when it announces its earnings, acknowledge that iPhone sales are off.
In addition to discussing Samsung sales, The Investor said that Apple sold 475,000 units in Korea over the four months it's been on store shelves in that country. Once again, that's the lowest-ever sales for a newly released iPhone in Korea.
Like the Galaxy S9, sales are similarly on the decline: Apple reportedly sold just 70,000 iPhone X units in February, down from just 103,000 in January.
The news becomes all the more troubling when one considers Apple and Samsung have been largely fighting a battle with each other. In fact, one carrier official told The Investor that the companies have faced "no new phone launches" from competitors. That alone makes the sales figures even worse in the official's eyes.
Looking ahead, Apple and Samsung obviously hope to turn the tide. But a carrier source told The Investor that it appears consumers have grown weary of expensive phones. And it's possible that Apple and Samsung will continue to face trouble selling their smartphones for the foreseeable future.
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