Samsung Confirms Limited Supply of Galaxy S4 in U.S. Due to Supply Shortage

Samsung Electronics confirmed that the initial supply of its much awaited Galaxy S4 will be limited in the U.S. due to a supply shortage.

United States carriers Spring and T-Mobile confirmed sales of the much-awaited and hyped Samsung Galaxy S4 will be delayed further than expected after Samsung Electronics confirmed limited number of devices.

Over the last few months, Samsung has aggressively advertised the smartphone in the U.S. to win back first spot in the country from competitor Apple. As a result, Samsung received more pre-orders than it expected and now is having trouble meeting the demand for the Galaxy S4.

"We've received many more pre-orders than expected, so we are having difficulties in rapidly increasing supply in a short period," Lee Don-joo, head of Samsung's marketing of mobile business, said on Thursday. "The Galaxy S4 is getting good reaction worldwide so we expect its success to surpass that of its predecessor Galaxy S3."

He clarified that while the initial supply may be limited, the company is working hard to fill the inventory soon to meet this growing demand. His announcement came a day after U.S. carriers announced that they will begin sales of the new device a few days later than previously promised.

T-Mobile announced it will begin sales of the device from Saturday and not Wednesday. Sprint said they will begin sales of the S4 from Saturday, but the device will not be available on the shelves of its retail stores until Samsung fulfils the inventory.

"Unfortunately, due to unexpected inventory challenges from Samsung, we will be slightly delayed with our full product launch," Sprint said in a statement.