According to PTI, Samsung expects its most recent foldable smartphones, the Galaxy Fold 5 and Galaxy Flip 5, to help the company take 50% of the super premium smartphone market in India. Apple, the company that makes iPhones, now holds a monopoly over this market. Devices costing more than $1,000 (or around ₹82,000) are classified as super premium smartphones.
According to PTI, T M Roh, president and head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics, believes that the company wants to introduce the Galaxy Fold 5 and Galaxy Flip 5 in order to increase its market share in the super premium class from its current 35 to 50 percent.
“The Samsung foldable has roughly a 35% market share throughout the entire Indian market in the very premium class. With the introduction of Fold 5 and Flip 5, we are now aiming to capture more than 50% of India’s super premium segment, which is comprised of products costing $1,000 or more.
Samsung kept the top spot in the total India market during the first quarter of 2023, according to Counterpoint Research, with a market share of 20%. Samsung saw a spectacular year-over-year rise of 247 percent in the ultra-premium category, which includes products costing more than 45,000 each. Apple yet maintained its strong market share of 62% in the ultra-premium category.
According to Roh, India used to be very sensitive to innovation but is now more receptive and open to it, which has led to a sharp increase in demand for high-end smartphones.
“At this point, the Indian market is open to innovation. Additionally, it is incredibly innovative-friendly and open. Also, mobile device usage is also prolonged. Another trend that we are observing on the Indian market is a sharp increase in consumer desire for luxury goods, according to Roh.
The cost of the Galaxy Fold 5 is expected to range from Rs. 1.54 lakh to Rs. 18.55 lakh, depending on the internal storage option, which is available in capacities of 256 GB to 1 TB. The Samsung Galaxy Flip 5, on the other hand, will cost between $99,999 and $1,09,999. On August 18, these high-end smartphones will be introduced in India.
On the same days as the release of its new foldable smartphones, Samsung will also unveil the Galaxy Watch 6 series and the Galaxy Tab S9 series, both of which have beginning prices of $29,999 and $1,33,999 respectively.
Apart from the Indian market, Roh noted that Samsung is also seeing a growth in demand for high-end premium items in other European and Southeast Asian markets.
The launch of Samsung’s high-end, premium foldable devices coincides with a global fall in smartphone shipments. Roh stated that he expected the market to improve in the second part of the year.
According to forecasts, things will improve year over year in the second half. However, it’s possible that the rate of recovery won’t be as quick as we had hoped. However, he said, “having said that, I would say that proportionally speaking, demand has been good in the premium and high-end market, and in particular heading into the second half of the year, we expect that there will be growth YoY.
