Samsung announced its flagship Galaxy Note 9 in China on August 15. Soon after, the Note 9 went up for pre-order on JD.com. Unlike other Chinese companies who allow free reservations on the site for sale, you had to pay 99 Yuan (~$14) in order to pre-order the device. Turns out, not many are willing to shell out the pre-order deposit for the new Note 9 on JingDong.
There are currently four variants of the Galaxy Note 9 on JD.com available for pre-order: 6+128GB storage option in three colors (Black, Blue, Copper) and 8+512GB option in one color (black). So far, the listing has received less than 1300 pre-orders for the device on the site. Considering the usual demand for a flagship like the Note series, this is definitely a lukewarm response from Chinese customers. The Frost Blue color seems to be the most pre-ordered variant on the site with over 500 registrations.
Samsung has been struggling in China in the past few years and this is yet another example of the company’s flagships failing to garner enough attention from customers in China. The Galaxy Note 9 is one of the most powerful handsets of 2018, however, apart from its innovative S Pen, the phone doesn’t have much to distinguish itself from the competition. Even Samsung’s variable aperture tech is coming on the upcoming OPPO R17 Pro flagship which is going to be much cheaper at launch.
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Considering the hefty 6999 Yuan price tag for the Note 9, customers can go for a cheaper yet powerful option like the innovative full screen OPPO Find X (starts at 4999 Yuan ~$756) or the Huawei P20 Pro with triple cameras (starts at 4999 Yuan ~$756). Unless Samsung decides to slash down its price to somewhere near to its Chinese competitors, it will be tough for the Note 9 to do well in the highly competitive Chinese market.
(via)
