Preorders for Samsung Electronics Co.'s latest high-end smartphone, the Galaxy Note 8, reached the highest-ever among its Note line, its chief of mobile communications said Tuesday, expressing confidence that the premium device will be very successful.

Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung Electronics, said the combined preorders for its Galaxy Note 8 in South Korea topped 650,000 units in just five days, far outpacing its predecessor.

The figure dwarfed numbers for the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7, which managed to draw 380,000 preorders over a 13-day preorder period.

The phablet will be officially released this week in South Korea and other nations.

"Since the unpack event last month, many business partners and our buyers have told us that the initial response (for the Galaxy Note 8) is good," Koh told reporters at a gathering in Seoul.

He said Samsung has been receiving preorders for the device in some 40 countries after the unpack ceremony in New York late last month.

The Galaxy Note 7 was recalled and its production was discontinued last year due to faulty batteries that caused some to catch fire while being recharged.
 

The official release of the Galaxy Note 8 is slated for Sept. 21, although those who preordered the device will get it starting Sept. 15.

The price tag of the base 64 GB edition is 1.09 million won ($964), while that of the 256 GB edition is 1.25 million won.

Samsung Electronics, the world's largest manufacturer of smartphones, plans to hold an event in China on Wednesday to celebrate the release of the phablet there with Koh scheduled to attend the ceremony.

"China is one of Samsung's most important markets... and we may need more time to regain the trust and love of Chinese consumers, but I think there will be good results," Koh said.

Samsung's share of the Chinese smartphone market for the second quarter is estimated at 3 percent, remaining in the doldrums as Chinese rivals continued to roll out price-competitive models.

According to the data compiled by Counterpoint Research, Chinese smartphone makers took up 87 percent of their home market in the April-June period. The top four brands -- Huawei Technologies Co., OPPO Electronics, Vivo Mobile Communications Co., and Xiaomi Inc. -- took up 69 percent, they showed.

The Galaxy Note 8 comes with a 6.3-inch display, and a standard wide and zoom lens camera. The latest Galaxy handset sports a Quad HD+ Super AMOLED display with an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. With this Infinity Display, the company has almost eliminated side bezels to give the device a simple yet immersive design up front.

Taking safety into consideration, the capacity of the new phablet's battery is 3,300 mAh, which is lower than the 3,500 mAh pack used in the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7.

The most significant feature of the Note 8 is the 12-megapixel rear-facing dual-lens main camera arrangement, which are both optically stabilized, a first among competing devices, such as those made by LG Electronics and Apple.

The resolution of the front camera stands at a solid 8 megapixels, which will please many who like taking selfies.

The latest Note device, moreover, comes with an improved S Pen, which allows users to take notes even with the screen is off, a much-liked feature of the Note 7. The stylus is capable of recognizing 39 languages and translating them into 71 languages.

Users can also do calculations on numbers simply by tapping the stylus on them.

Samsung said its S Pen is capable of discerning 4,096 levels of pressure, making it feel and act like an actual pen.

Both the device and the stylus are IP68 certified for water and dust resistance. The rating indicates the device can withstand up to 30 minutes underwater at a depth of up to 1.5 meters.

The Galaxy Note 8, like previous Samsung phones, sports iris, fingerprint and facial recognition for speedy and secure unlocking, as well as quick and wireless charging capabilities. The artificial intelligence voice recognition system, Bixby, also comes installed on the new phablet. (Yonhap)