Samsung Electronics Co.’s profit for the first quarter rose 44% from the prior year as the early release of a new flagship smartphone and strong gadget sales.

The Galaxy S21 family of flagship Android devices was released earlier than Samsung’s annual refresh cadence, giving its phone business a January boost. With major rival Huawei Technologies Co. derailed by U.S. sanctions, Samsung and a cohort of Chinese contenders have rushed to fill the void left in the market.

Samsung’s first-quarter smartphone shipments are estimated at 76 million, up 25% from the previous quarter, with an average selling price more than 20% higher.

Source: Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-06/samsung-profit-beats-estimates-as-mobile-sales-cushion-fab-loss?srnd=technology-vp