Samsung India aims to garner 75 per cent of its total smartphones business from 5G this year, from 61 per cent last year, as the demand for 5G services is expected to touch multifold levels in 2023, said a top official on Thursday.

“In 2022, the contribution of 5G handsets to the market was 56 per cent and Samsung’s business from 5G was 61 per cent in value terms, which means we were ahead of the market. This year, we will increase the number of 5G handsets by 1.6x and, once the range increases, we are expecting that from 61 per cent contribution in 2022, we will improve it to 75 per cent this year,” Raju Pullan, Senior Vice-President, Mobile Business, Samsung India, told businessline.

The company has 21 devices in the 5G portfolio right now from a total of 37 devices (including 4G handsets and tablets). “In the last four years, Samsung grew the fastest...while the analysts said the industry grew by single digits, the company grew by 20 per cent plus in 2022, which helped it consolidate a leadership position with 22 per cent market share in the Indian smartphone market,” said Pullan.

He said one of the reasons for the growth in 5G handsets is that Samsung provides the products with same average EMI range (around ₹1,400 per month) as that of 4G handsets across the country, especially through Samsung Finance Plus, available across 60,000 retailers.

“Consumers will not hesitate to upgrade to a ₹15,000 phone of his outlay is going to be similar and therefore, ensuring that the entire upgrade story will happen...transition will happen there. There are around 600 million smartphones base in India, out of which only 15 per cent is on 5G right now, which means it is a huge opportunity for brands who lead innovation and builds around consumer centricity,” he said.

New smartphones

To target such consumers, Samsung will launch two new 5G smartphones on Friday — Galaxy A14 5G and A 23 5G, inspired by the Galaxy signature design — priced at ₹14,999 and ₹20,999 respectively.

“This is the first time we are having big launches starting January, which means a strong strategy for Samsung and it will also help us ensuring a good start for the year. We will be launching more products in different categories in the months to come,” Pullan added.

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