Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy Note8 shows signs of becoming a blockbuster as pre-orders for the latest spec-packed big-screen smartphone reached nearly 400,000 in the first day.

According to Samsung Electronics on Friday, Galaxy Note8 received 395,000 pre-orders on the first day in Korea. The pre-order volume is smaller than the first day’s pre-order of Galaxy S8, another premium phone that the company started selling in April this year, but overwhelms 380,000 13-day pre-orders for its predecessor Galaxy Note7.

Galaxy Note7’s stellar sale was short-lived as a battery issue ended up in the biggest smartphone recall and eventual discontinuation.

The 64-gigabyte (GB) model, priced at 1,094,500 won ($971.85) was favored over 128-GB model, which is priced at 1,254,000 won, and took up a 65 percent share of the first day’s pre-order volume. Blue was the most popular color and black the second favorite.

Whether the phenomenon can last remains to be seen as Galaxy Note7 users who were forced to return their phones have a trade-in value and can get the phone at nearly half the price.

Galaxy Note8’s pre-order runs from Sep. 7 to 14 and the sales will officially begin on Sept. 21.

By Seo Dong-cheol

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