How Samsung is looking to win back the Indian smartphone market
For the better part of this decade, India has remained an important market for the South Korean smartphone maker, Samsung. Even as the company has faced stiff competition in Western and Chinese markets, India has welcomed Samsung and its products with open arms.
The country's fondness for Samsung, coinciding with its emergence as the fastest growing smartphone market in the world, has consequently made India one of its biggest revenue generators for Samsung in the world.
As such, when Xiaomi dethroned it to become India's biggest smartphone manufacturer by volume, it came as a blow for Samsung which had slowly, but surely, made India central to its plans for global dominance.
Battle for the masses
Though a number of factors are responsible for Samsung being pushed down the ladder, the biggest of them, however, has been the ability of Chinese smartphone makers like Xiaomi to bring smartphones at totally disruptive price points. This is especially true for the mid and budget segment which have emerged as the new drivers of the smartphone industry in the country.
Xiaomi has particularly excelled in these segments by launching a number of competitively priced devices, like the Mi A1 and the Redmi Note 5 Pro which have been wholeheartedly accepted by the buyers. These smartphones – and others of its ilk– pack impressive hardware inside their sleek metal and glass frames, and come bearing price tags more attractive than those that established brands like Samsung slap on their phones.
However, because of primarily being products from Chinese brands, these smartphones haven't been able to provide a premium and significantly distinctive user experience to the average smartphone buyer in the country.
And that is what Samsung is now looking to exploit in its bitter battle against Xiaomi and other Chinese smartphone makers.
Taking the fight to the budget and mid-segment
In the Galaxy A6+, A6, J8, J6 and On6 smartphones the South Korean major has launched five new smartphones in the last two months that target budget and mid-segment buyers. Depending on the price segments they are placed in, the devices bring competitive specs that may not embarrass the competition when it comes to benchmark results, but hold their own in real-world usage.
Then what makes these phones special you ask? The answer is a distinct flavour that until now was only found in flagship phones from Samsung.
Much like the Galaxy S and Note series, these smartphones come with "Infinity Display" that have previously made the Samsung flagships stand out from the crowd. The five new phones have in a way been created using the same tried and tested recipe – beautiful Infinity Display optimised to provide a distinct Samsung experience – that worked wonders for Samsung's flagship devices in the past.
But unlike the Galaxy S and Note devices which come with price tags to reflect the premium nature of the offerings, the most aggressively price phone in the list – the Galaxy J6 – starts retail at Rs 13,990.
Though there is no denying that Samsung has cut some corners while creating these budget phones, and even the panels slapped on these devices do not match up to the ones found the flagship phones. However, what can also not be denied is that in essence, the new smartphones do manage to recreate some of the magic that Samsung's Galaxy S and Note devices have managed to conjure up over the years.
Case in point, the Galaxy A6+.
The particular device, which we reviewed only last month, brings with it a Full HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity Display slapped on the front of the phone which impresses from the moment you lay eyes on it. Though there are no sexy curves as seen on the S9 and Note 8, the Galaxy A6+ with an aspect ratio of 18.5:9, does manage to look appealing with very thin bezel and chin at the bottom.
To Samsung's credit, the 6-inch panel on the mid-range phone replicates the punchy colours, deep blacks, and great viewing angles that one usually associates with high-end phones from the stables of the South Korean tech giant.
Overall, the A6+ – much like the other four budget and mid-segment smartphones Samsung has launched in the past weeks – manages to impress by successfully bringing an iconic Samsung flagship feature to a device meant for the masses.
And that is where things get interesting.
By bringing this iconic flagship feature to the masses, and pairing it with its refined take on Android, Samsung has created an experience that Xiaomi and its brethren from across the border will find difficult to match – and as such pose a serious challenge for the crucial mid and budget segment of the market.
Now, this is not to say that this distinct experience alone will be enough for Samsung to ensure market domination. Far from it.
As market realities go, many mid and budget segment buyers will still go for the most powerful phone they can find within their budget. Something that Samsung still needs to improve on as all the five phones feel a little underpowered for the price Samsung is asking for them.
However, with these new Infinity Display clad devices, it is also true that Samsung has now at least made a move in the right direction and introduced to the market viable alternatives to the sea of similar smartphones that currently flood it.