“Huawei is aiming for an empty seat” Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy A sortie with’cost-performance ratio’

Now it is’A’ -.

This is Samsung Electronics’ strategy this year, which continues to be the’anxious number one’ in the global smartphone market. It means that it will respond with the Galaxy A series, which puts the cost-effectiveness (excellent performance for the price) ahead, in the context of Xiaomi taking the reflected profits from Huawei’s “fall” in China while being reversed by Apple in the expensive product line.

According to the industry on the 21st, Samsung Electronics plans to reinforce its differentiation from Chinese brands by adding various advanced features to the’Galaxy A Series’ to be released in the first half of this year. It is interpreted as a means to solidify the global No. 1 by increasing its share in the mid- to low-end market.

Samsung Electronics will introduce the Galaxy F62, a high-performance, entry-level smartphone in India on the 22nd of this month. [연합뉴스]

Samsung Electronics will partially support flagship (strategic smartphones) functions such as waterproof and dustproof for mid- to low-priced phones scheduled to be released in the first half of the year. Samsung Electronics is planning to launch mid- to low-end phone series such as Galaxy A52 and Galaxy A72 first in Europe and India, where demand for mid- to low-end phones is high, and then to introduce these products in Korea.

The mid- to low-end phones to be introduced this time are characterized by flagship functions such as waterproof and dustproof functions, and high refresh rate. According to U.S. information technology (IT) media, Phone Arena, the Galaxy A52 is equipped with four (quad) cameras including a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display and a 64 megapixel main camera in the rear, a fingerprint recognition sensor with a built-in display, and a 4500mAh battery. The Galaxy A72 offers a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display and a 5000mAh battery.

Both models support IP67-rated waterproof and dustproof (meaning that they are protected from dust and water at a depth of 1m) and a refresh rate of 90㎐. The scanning rate is the number of images displayed per second. The higher the scanning rate, the faster and more dynamic images can be displayed smoothly.

It has been 3 years since Samsung Electronics has provided waterproof and dustproof support for low- and mid-priced phones. As a strategy to differentiate it from premium phones, Samsung Electronics excluded the waterproof and dustproof functions from the Galaxy A series, which was released in the first half of 2018. It is also the first time in the Galaxy A series with a refresh rate exceeding 60Hz. The estimated price is expected to be around 500,000 won for the Galaxy A52 and 600,000 to 700,000 won for the Galaxy A72.

Global smartphone market share. Graphic = Younghee Kim [email protected]

The industry interprets that the background of Samsung Electronics’ focus on mid- to low-end products is a paving stone for strengthening its position in the global mid-to-low-end phone market. According to counterpoint research, a market research firm, Samsung Electronics ranked first with 19% of the global smartphone market last year.

But Apple is closing the gap to 15%. In particular, in the fourth quarter of last year, it was reversed by Apple, who put the iPhone 12 series on its back. In addition, Huawei in China, whose global market share fell sharply due to US sanctions, gave Xiaomi the vacancy. Xiaomi’s shipments in the fourth quarter of last year increased by 31% compared to the previous year.

Geun-ho Jung, director of Atlas Research & Consulting, said, “Amid the growing global demand for mid- to low-end smartphones in recent years and the polarization of the demand group, a strategy to secure stable profits from mid- to low-end product lines with Samsung Electronics’ strength of’cost performance’.” did.

Galaxy A31, which ranked first in domestic sales last year. [뉴스1]

The importance of the mid- to low-end smartphone market has also increased in the domestic market. According to Counterpoint Research, the smartphone that sold the most in Korea last year was the Samsung Galaxy A31, a phone exclusively for Long Term Evolution (LTE, 4th generation).

In the meantime, it has been called’the grave of mid- and low-priced smartphones’ in Korea, but the atmosphere is changing recently. In particular, it seems that the preference for mid- to low-end prices has increased as the person undergoes a novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19).

According to Counterpoint Research, the proportion of products under $400 in the domestic smartphone market last year was 41%, an increase of 7% from the previous year, while the proportion of products over $800 (88 million won) fell 6% to 32%. In addition, as LG Electronics announced a full review of its smartphone business, the possibility of a gap in domestic mid- to low-end models is expected to be a boon for Samsung Electronics.

However, there are also concerns that it may be difficult for Samsung Electronics to catch two rabbits, which are low-end and high-end. There is also an analysis that it will be a policy in terms of profitability.

Young-jin Ahn, a researcher at SK Securities, said, “Samsung Electronics is taking an advanced strategy as a strategy to differentiate it from existing Chinese products in the mid-to-low-priced market, which became unjudicial due to the fall of Huawei. “Because it is not possible to increase the price, it may mean expanding its market share, but there may be nothing to gain in terms of profitability.”

Reporter Kim Kyung-jin [email protected]