Samsung Launches Red Galaxy S9 In Hopes Of Revitalizing Presence In China

Samsung Electronics has introduced a new color option for its Galaxy S9 flagship phone. The South Korean giant launched the red version of the S9 in China on Tuesday.

Yonhap reports that there’s a reason why Samsung chose to debut the red edition of the Galaxy S9 in the large Asian market. The company is apparently hoping that by introducing the new color option in China, it could revitalize its presence in the country.

Samsung has been losing ground in China due to the rise of Chinese phone makers who are releasing premium handsets with competitive pricing. In 2013, Samsung had an estimated 20 percent stake in China. Unfortunately, the latest data compiled by industry tracker Strategy Analytics showed that the tech giant now only has 1.3 percent.

Samsung released the red version of the S9 to give the flagship phone a new look that would hopefully attract more consumers to buy it. Last year, it used the same strategy by introducing the burgundy red version of the Galaxy S8 months after the original variants were launched.

The burgundy red version of the S8 was launched in Samsung’s home country last November. The new look is basically only visible on the back of the phone, since the front only has black bezels and the Infinity Display to showcase. The deep red hue on the back was also the only thing that distinguished the burgundy red model from the rest of the Galaxy S8 models, as pointed out by PhoneDog.

The burgundy red edition of the Galaxy S8 was first released in South Korea, then later on launched in India. From the looks of it, the red version of the Galaxy S9 will first be launched in China. It wasn’t clear if it will be launched in other markets, or if it’s even arriving in the U.S. in the future.

In related news, Samsung has already lowered the pricing of its Galaxy S9 Plus smartphone in South Korea. When the device was launched in March, Samsung offered the 256GB variant for 1.15 million won (US$1,081). Now the company is selling it for 1.07 million won (US$994). This appears to be the first time that Samsung has cut pricing for a flagship phone less than a year after its launch.