Samsung rewrites S7 launch details

A model poses for photographs with Samsung's new smartphone Galaxy S7 during its launching ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, March 10, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Samsung Electronics Co is deploying a new strategy that's being credited for making the Galaxy S7 smartphone a surprise hit since its debut in March: Releasing it sooner and pricing it cheaper.

Sales of the company's top-end lineup are estimated to reach 9 million units during their first month on the market－or triple those of the S6 models in the same time frame last year. That's prompting analysts to raise their projections for operating profit and revenue when Samsung reports preliminary first-quarter earnings on Thursday, even as its marquee device with a wraparound screen is as much 8 percent cheaper than last year's device.

The world's biggest smartphone maker scrapped its practice of raising prices with each new model, a ploy long used by Apple Inc, as it tries to counter flattening sales growth. While Samsung's chip and display businesses probably will suffer as a result, sales of the S7 devices are being energized by critical praise, a lull in new models from Chinese makers and the lack of an iPhone 7 to sway upgraders and first-time buyers.

"With the high-end smartphone market largely stagnated, the issue is no longer about what 'Wow' features the new phone has," said Claire Kim, a Seoul-based analyst at Daishin Securities Co. "Rather, it's about who can bring out the phone quicker."

The S7 lineup was released March 11, about a month sooner than the S6 models that went on sale in April 2015. The phones look similar, one with a 5.1-inch screen and the other with a 5.5-inch screen wrapping around the edges, yet the new models include a memory-card slot, waterproofing and a longer estimated battery life.