Samsung will soon bring the budget models of its Galaxy smartphone line to South Korea –taking an obvious cue from the sizable success of SK Telecom’s ‘LUNA’ smartphone released in this September.
Samsung’s low end models dubbed, Galaxy J5 and Galaxy J7, will be priced around 300,000 won (US$258), but could go down to as low 100,000 won (US$86) with further discounts from sellers.
Until now, the Galaxy J5 and J7, which feature either a 5-inch or a 5.5-inch display, a detachable battery and a 5-megapixel back and front camera, were available only in China and India, where they were released earlier this year.
Koreans want budget options, too
South Koreans have shown a hefty appetite for budget smartphones with the 300,000 won LUNA selling out its entire stock of 30,000 units in two weeks following its debut.
After rarely offering budget prices to the home market, Samsung is releasing more low end phones to Korean consumers.
This looks to be part of a larger strategy after the company’s upmarket strategy, tied to the Galaxy S, has produced less than desired results. Samsung was the only smartphone maker in the world to lose market share in the last quarter.
The company’s decision to make its budget options available back home is not to be misconstrued as a sudden show of affection to the country of its birth.
According to data compiled by industry tracker Strategy Analytics, budget smartphones are predicted to account for around 55 percent of the global market this year.
Samsung struggles to regain market share in China
Earlier this month in China Samsung announced the release of two affordable smartphone models called Galaxy On5 and Galaxy On7 as part of an affort to streamline its lower-priced smartphone devices into Galaxy A, E, J and Z.
The Galaxy On5 device features 4G LTE, a 5-inch HD display, 1.5GB(DRAM)/8GB(Flash) and a 2,600mAh battery, while the Galaxy On7 model is comes with a 5.5-inch HD and 3,000mAh battery.
Samsung is struggling, under heavy pressure from Chinese vendors and Apple, to regain its once dominant market share in China. It remains to be seen whether these budget smartphones are the avenue to renew the South Korean electronic powerhouse in the eyes of Chinese consumers.
