Worldwide the mobile phones market is seeing a decline and India is among the very few markets that are still experiencing growth. This must be one of the reasons why global brands like Samsung and Xiaomi are looking to target Indian market and make the most out of the potential.
Xiaomi and Samsung have been battling it out for market share in India with Xiaomi winning most of 2018. But Samsung has plans of changing the scenario with the launch of their ‘M-series’ phones which will only be available for sale in India.
For customers, these brand wars are proving to be beneficial as they are latest technology at very affordable prices. The value for money strategy is becoming more common and brands like Apple are seeing a decline.
The sale of the M-Series phones will be limited to being online, either through the official Samsung portal or via Amazon. According to Asim Warsi, the global vice president at Samsung India, the India-first phones will be priced between ₹10,000 to ₹20,000 and in exchange, the phones will have chunkier batteries but they’ll be equipped with features like quick charging.
To solve this, Apple is following the ‘Make-in-India’ path by announcing that it will be assembling its ‘high-end’ devices locally. But, seeing the competition from other players, it will be extremely difficult to rule the market.
Xiaomi is looking to strengthen hold in India by separating Redmi as a sub-brand. POCO — another sub-brand under Xiaomi — will focus on ‘affordable flagships’ and Redmi will focus on the ‘budget’ smartphones.
Samsung is also trying to avoid the ‘one portfolio’ approach with India. Warsi told in an interview “We are here to serve all consumers — from flagship premium and luxury to mid-range, affordable and popular smartphone segments. Being a full-range player, we have a full deployment and infrastructure in place in the country.”
Whichever brands get the better of price and features will win the market. The final beneficiary will be the Indian consumer who will get smartphones cheaper than ever before.
