Samsung seeks to douse Note 7 fire with S8 launch

Endeavour is to regain its lost ground in the super-premium market where rival Apple has gained share

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S8 and S8+ on Wednesday in India, filling the void for a “flagship device”. Flagship here means a high-end smartphone device. Globally as well as in India, Samsung is known for these high-end models, which in rupee terms are available for nothing less than ~50,000. Prior to the Note 7 crisis, Samsung commanded around 50-55 per cent share in the ~50,000 and above smartphone market in India.

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S8 and S8+ on Wednesday in India, filling the void for a “flagship device”.

Flagship here means a high-end smartphone device.

Globally as well as in India, Samsung is known for these high-end models, available for nothing less than ~50,000.

Prior to the Note 7 crisis, which saw users of the device plagued with battery explosions, Samsung commanded around 50-55 per cent share in the super-premium smartphone market in India.

Apple occupied a market pie of around 45-46 per cent in this segment, according to Cybermedia Research.

Following the Note 7 crisis, Samsung’s share reduced to 17 per cent, according to data for January and February 2017.

Apple’s share grew to 80 per cent in January and February 2017, Faisal Kawoosa, principal analyst, telecom and semitronics, CyberMedia Research, said.

“The addressable market for Samsung therefore in the super-premium smartphone segment has shrunk in the last few months, implying the company would have to work really hard to regain its lost ground,” Kawoosa said.

According to experts, the super-premium or ~50,000 and above smartphone segment in India is about 4 per cent (or 4.5 million units) of the overall 113million-unit domestic smartphone market, indicating a tough fight for Samsung.

Apple on Tuesday said it was working on new features for its tenth anniversary edition of the iPhone, hinting it has no plans to abdicate the ground it had gained in Samsung’s absence, especially in markets such as India, where it is growing quickly.

But with the new iPhone to be launched only in the second half of the 2017 calendar year, Samsung, experts said, had time to work its way up in the super-premium segment.

“There are some interesting features that the S8 has such as a curved screen, which has been taken to the next level by the smartphone maker. The S8 offers consumers infinite display and this could be a big hook in India, where display plays a key role for buyers,” Niel Shah, analyst at Counterpoint Research said.

Samsung has also priced the S8 at ~57,900, while the S8+ is available for ~64,900. The iphone 7 was launched in October last year at ~60,000 for a 32GB variant. The 128GB version was available for ~70,000, and the 256GB for ~80,000.