Samsung Electronics on Tuesday said pre-orders for its Galaxy Note 8 premium smartphone have hit the highest-ever for the Note series, beating its predecessor Note 7 over five days by about 2.5 times.

Samsung is banking on the device to protect its market dominance as it competes with Apple's latest iPhones due to be unveiled later on Tuesday. Note 8 sales begin in the United States, South Korea and elsewhere on Friday.

Pre-orders reached about 650,000 Note 8 handsets over five days from about 40 countries, making the initial response "very encouraging," DJ Koh, president of Samsung Electronics' mobile communications business, said.

The device succeeds the Note 7, whose battery fires resulted in Samsung pulling the device from the market. The world's biggest smartphone maker by market share nevertheless decided to retain the Note brand after a survey showed 85 per cent of 5,000 Galaxy Note users expressed brand loyalty. - Reuters

Source: Khaleej Times