Seoul, Feb 10 (IANS): Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday that its latest smartphone line, the Galaxy S21 series, posted 30 per cent higher sales than its predecessor in South Korea as the tech giant strives to boost its handset sales.

Samsung said sales of the Galaxy S21 family between January 29 and Februay 8 were 30 per cent higher than those of the Galaxy S20 series.

By model, the entry-level S21 accounted for 40 percent of the total sales, followed by high-end S21 Ultra with 36 percent.

The S21 was launched with a price tag of $900 in South Korea, the cheapest price ever for Samsung's flagship 5G smartphone model.

Samsung said sales of unlocked phones made up 30 per cent of the total S21 series sales, with their sales volume more than doubling from that of the S20 series, reports Yonhap news agency.

Of the unlocked phone sales, 60 per cent were purchased online, the company added.

Samsung, the world's largest smartphone vendor, launched the S21 series on January 29, nearly two months earlier than its usual schedule of new flagship smartphone launches.

The company expects sales of S21 smartphones to further rise in March and April.

According to market researcher Counterpoint Research, Samsung was projected to sell 2.4 million units of the S21 series in South Korea this year, which is about 40 per cent larger than sales of the S20 series in its debut year.