Samsung may reduce number of models to 2 for Galaxy S24 series

Samsung is reviewing a plan to reduce the number of models for its flagship Galaxy S24 series launching next year, TheElec has learned.

The tech giant had so far launched three models for its flagship Galaxy S series; standard, Plus, and Ultra.

Samsung usually starts the development of a smartphone a year prior to launch. The company is planning to launch the Galaxy S23 series next month.

Currently, the Galaxy S24 project is called DM internally. It currently has two sub-projects DM1 and DM3. There should be a DM2 but this is noticeably absent. 

Judging from the naming convention for prior S models, DM1 is likely the standard Galaxy S24 and DM3 Galaxy S24 Ultra.

It is highly likely that DM2 was planned but scrapped sometime afterward.

As the launch of the Galaxy S24 series is a year away, Samsung could add a DM2 later but this will need to be done timely.

If Samsung decides to go through without a Plus model for the Galaxy S24 series, it likely has to do with the current state of the smartphone market.

The market has matured and most consumers either buy the premium model or the budget model in developed countries. The Plus model from the iPhone 14 was also the most unpopular among the four models, representing this trend.

According to analyst firm GfK, in 2018, 1.47 million smartphones were sold. This dropped to 1.376 billion in 2019. In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, this numbered drop to 1.268 billion but bounced back slightly in 2021 to 1.29 billion, according to the firm.

Last year, this dropped to 1.243 billion again. GfK expects the shipment to be around 1.278 billion units this year.

Meanwhile, Samsung is also considering reducing the number of models in its A series, its mid-tier brand. Galaxy A1, A3, and A5 are likely to continue but A2 may be scrapped.