[ THE INVESTOR ] Tech giant Samsung Electronics has set a shipment goal of 60 million this year for its upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphone, higher than that of its previous flagship models, according to industry sources on Jan. 9.



“The tech giant has requested its partners to supply (parts) based on the tech giant’s 60 million shipment goal,” an industry source told The Investor on condition of anonymity, adding Samsung has confirmed that the release schedule has been postponed to mid-April, a month later than the usual March release.







Samsung's mobile chief Koh Dong-jin





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The shipment goal for the S8 is much higher than the total shipments of the firm’s flagship models over the past three years: S5 (45 million), S6 (45 million) and S7 (48 million). The Galaxy S4, released in 2013, shipped a record 70 million units, while the S3 notched up 65 million.



“As the release date of the S8 has been postponed to mid-April, Samsung seems to have set a more ambitious goal than before to make up for the loss caused by the Note model, which has so far led Samsung’s smartphone business every first quarter,” another industry source said.



The mass production of the S8 will start in March, when Samsung will begin rolling out 5 million units of the S8 each month after it receives electronic parts in February from its main vendors, including camera iris scanner module maker Partron and camera lens firm Sekonix.



Wireless module maker Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Amotech are expected to supply radio frequency modules, which are used for near-field communication systems, in March, while secondary vendors such as Hansol Technics will likely start offering parts from April.





