Samsung targets 50% of India’s premium segment with Galaxy Fold 5, Galaxy Flip 5

As per PTI, Samsung Electronics’ president and head of Mobile eXperience Business, T M Roh believes that the company’s objective is to raise its current market share from 35 per cent to 50 per cent in the super premium segment through the introduction of the Galaxy Fold 5 and Galaxy Flip 5.

“In the super premium segment, the Samsung foldable has about 35 per cent market share in the entire Indian market. And then now with the launch of Fold 5 and Flip 5, we are now targeting over 50 per cent in the USD-1,000 or higher super premium segment in India,” Roh added.

As per Counterpoint Research, during the first quarter of 2023, Samsung held the top position in the overall India market with a market share of 20 per cent. In the ultra-premium category, which includes devices priced above ₹45,000 each, Samsung experienced a remarkable year-over-year growth of 247 per cent. However, Apple continued to lead the ultra-premium segment with a dominant market share of 62 per cent.

Roh mentioned that India was previously highly sensitive to innovation; however, it has now become more open and receptive to innovative products, resulting in a significant surge in demand for high-end smartphones.

“Now the India market is sensitive to innovation. It’s also very open and receptive to innovation. And also, the usage of the mobile device is also quite long. Also, another trend that we are seeing coming out of the Indian market is a very rapidly rising demand for high-end premium products,” Roh said.

The Galaxy Fold 5 is set to be priced between ₹1.54 lakh and ₹1.85 lakh, with the cost varying based on the internal storage capacity, which ranges from 256 GB to 1 TB. On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy Flip 5 will be available in the price range of ₹99,999 and ₹1,09,999. These premium devices will be launched in India on August 18th.

In addition to its new foldable devices, Samsung will also introduce the Galaxy Tab S9 series, priced between ₹72,999 and ₹1,33,999 per unit, along with the Galaxy Watch 6 series, starting at ₹29,999, on the same dates.

Roh mentioned that apart from the Indian market, Samsung is experiencing an increase in demand for high-end premium products in Southeast Asian markets and certain European markets as well.

Samsung has introduced its high-end premium foldable devices amid a global decline in overall smartphone shipments. Roh expressed his anticipation for a market recovery in the second half of the year.

“There are predictions that in the second half things are going to recover year-over-year. But then the pace of the recovery, perhaps, is not going to be as fast as we would hope for. But having said that, in the premium and the high-end segment, I would say that relatively speaking, the demand has been sound and in particular going into the second half of the year, we believe that there is going to be growth YoY,” he stated.

(With inputs from PTI)

Updated: 31 Jul 2023, 05:02 PM IST