Samsung has reaffirmed its belief that the Galaxy S9 duo will outperform the S8 phones by announcing its plans to ship 43 million units this year – that’s for Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ combined.

Korean publication The Bell reports that Samsung has given this target to its component suppliers. For the first quarter, Samsung expects 12 million units to leave the factories, then 13 million, then 10 million and finally, 8 million in the last three months of 2018. Some adjustments may be made going forward.

That’s slightly higher than the 41 million Galaxy S8/S8+ units that the company reported it has shipped in 2017, though lower than the 48 million S7/S7+ units it shipped in 2016.

Counterpoint Research has forecast shipments between 40 million and 43 million. Reports from stores suggest that the pre-orders for the Galaxy S9 duo are not stronger than those for the S8 phones last year. Also, the general smartphone market is in a slump – in Q4 2017 Gartner reported the first decline in shipments since forever.

To keep loyal customers, Samsung is offering cash (up to KRW 100,000) to Korean users who return a Galaxy S8. This is intended to speed up the typical replacement period of 2 years. Some analysts believe in the US the company will bring back the “buy one, get one free” program that we saw with the S7.

Source (in Korean)