Samsung Electronics Co unveiled a new range of inexpensive smartphones for India, seeking to win back customers in the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market, and regain ground lost to Xiaomi Corp (小米) and other Chinese rivals.
The three M series devices, all priced below 20,000 rupees (US$282.75) apiece, would launch on Feb. 5 on the Samsung India online store, as well as Amazon India, the South Korean manufacturer said.
The cheapest of the range would sell for less than 10,000 rupees. The company would later take the devices to other markets.
“It’s aimed squarely and entirely at millennials who form a third of India’s 1.3 billion population and comprise half of the country’s online shoppers,” Samsung India senior vice president Asim Warsi said.
As smartphone sales growth sputters in saturated Western markets, every smartphone maker from Apple Inc to Samsung and Xiaomi are looking to India to boost their fortunes.
China is also the fastest-growing geography for sales, but, with only 24 percent of Indians owning smartphones, there is plenty of room for capturing new customers.
“The battleground in India is the mid-tier and low-tier smartphone segment, which is huge,” Gartner Inc analyst Anshul Gupta said. “Any vendor looking at volume, revenue or market share who aspires to be among the top five will have to operate in that segment.”
India is a fiercely competitive market. While price is a key factor, first-time smartphone buyers are also looking for value in terms of design and battery life. Cameras and their specs are an important consideration in selfie-crazy India. The M series would sport a 5000mAH battery, at least two cameras (the top end of the M series has three) and a 15.75cm screen size.
Samsung’s devices blanket the entire price spectrum in India. Its Samsung Galaxy Note 9 debuted in August at about 70,000 rupees, while its Galaxy J2 sells for less than a 10th of that, at 6,190 rupees.
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