Samsung announces foldable smartphone at competitive price for Indian market

New Delhi: Samsung has announced to bring Galaxy Z Fold3 5G (with first ever S Pen support on a foldable) and Galaxy Z Flip3 5G devices to India next month at a very competitive price in the premium segment.

Despite the cost reduction, the 7-inch Galaxy Z Flip 3 (that may cost around Rs 85,000-Rs 90,000) does not compromise on the hardware or features. It offers "under-display camera", improved toughness with armor aluminum and Corning's Gorilla Glass Victus, along with other top-end features.

According to industry experts, Samsung will eventually look to upgrade its smartphone users (especially on Note series which did not arrive this year) to the foldables.

Tarun Pathak, Research Director at market intelligence firm Counterpoint opines that "Galaxy selected trade-in will make Fold even more attractive, especially on the Note series where users will move on to an entirely new form factor and experience."

The shipment of foldable smartphones will remain in single digit in 2021 at around 9 million units -- a three times growth over 2020 -- with Samsung dominating with over 88 per cent market share.

By 2023, Counterpoint Research expects a 10 times growth in foldable smartphone shipments.

Samsung has said it expects better performance in the second half with the launch of new foldable smartphones and the expansion of mass-market 5G devices.

The South Korean giant said it sold 60 million units of handsets in the second quarter, down from 81 million units in the previous quarter, with the portion of smartphones reaching the mid-90 percent range.

"It is great to see that Samsung persevere and persist with new innovations around the foldable form factor, with each successive iteration. With its third-gen foldable, Samsung has been able to move the needle forward, even including, potentially mainstreaming the foldables," An IANS report quoted Prabhu Ram, Head of Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), at Gurgaon-based CyberMedia Research (CMR).

Ram also added that if Samsung plays its cards well and gets the India pricing right for the Galaxy Z Flip (below the Rs 85,000 mark) in a price-sensitive market like India, "it will potentially have a best-seller in the upcoming festive season".