Samsung To Release Several Mid-Range Smartphones In India To Take On Xiaomi, Micromax

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is looking to capitalize on its recent success in regaining market share in India by aggressively chasing the mid-range segment in which industry analysts have said the world’s No. 1 smartphone maker lost ground to Chinese competition last year.

The Korean smartphone giant is gearing up to release 10 new smartphones in India, primarily under its Galaxy J series, India’s Economic Times newspaper reported, citing industry executives, including the CEO of a large smartphone retail chain, whom it didn’t name.

The phones are to be released in the July-September quarter and the first two, J7 and J5 will hit stores in July, the paper reported. The phones are expected to support 4G networks in India.

In 2014, Chinese companies such as Xiaomi Corp. and Lenovo Group Ltd., including its Motorola Mobility unit, made rapid strides in India, offering smartphones with relatively higher-end hardware specifications at prices much lower than equivalent Samsung phones.

Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 4G 5.5-inch phablet and Lenovo’s A6000 phones are two such examples. Both are in the sub-10,000 rupee category (about $157). The companies have continued with that strategy into more expensive mid-range phones too, such as Xiaomi’s Mi 4 handset, and Motorola’s Moto G and Moto X, which have also seen new iterations.

Samsung will release its new phones to compete in the 9,000 rupees to 18,000 rupees range, the paper said.