Samsung Boasts Shipping More Than 6.7 Million 5G Galaxy Phones Globally

5G permeates almost all marketing talk in the mobile industry and it will continue to do so well into 2020 and maybe even 2021. That doesn't mean, however, that adoption of the network has been as speedy as proponents would have hoped. Despite the distinct lack of coverage, consumers are excited for 5G enough to buy 5G phones in advance, or at least that's the picture that Samsung is trying to paint it its latest report of having shipped almost 7 million such phones, including the Galaxy Fold 5G.

To take advantage of new 5G networks, one needs a 5G-capable device. Even before networks went public, a few manufacturers already got a head start, like Motorola's 5G Moto Mod. Launching the Galaxy S10 5G at the start of 2019, Samsung was also there from the beginning and it is now reporting the fruits of that endeavor.

Samsung says that it has shipped more than 6.7 million of such 5G-enabled handsets around the world. Those include the Galaxy S10 5G, the Galaxy Note 10 5G, the Galaxy Note 10+ 5G, and even the new Galaxy A90 5G and the extremely rare and expensive Galaxy Fold 5G. Given how much more expensive these versions are from their 4G counterparts, that's admittedly an impressive number.

It doesn't, however, really reflect the market's excitement for 5G the way Samsung makes it out to be. It may simply be a matter of consumers wanting the best that money can buy or are future-proofing their phone, considering they may not buy a new one in 2020 or even until 2021. And in some markets like South Korea, only the 5G variant of the Galaxy Fold was made available.

Interestingly, Samsung also confirmed the existence of a Galaxy Tab S6 5G that's headed to South Korea in the first quarter. It would be the world's first 5G-capable tablet but Samsung doesn't mention if it would actually be made available in other parts of that world.