Samsung Electronics is looking to retake the flagship market in India with the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus and has started accepting pre-orders for the devices in the South Asian country on Thursday. The Seoul-based consumer electronics manufacturer confirmed its upcoming flagship duo will be released in India on May 5, adding that all of the locally retailed Galaxy S8 models will also be made in India, The Korea Herald reports. While Samsung is boosting the local economy by manufacturing a portion of its new flagships in India, the company also opted to increase the prices of its high-end smartphones in the country compared to their predecessors, as the larger Galaxy S8 Plus will retail for 64,900 rupees, i.e. over $1,000.
Regardless of their premium price tags, the South Korean tech giant is expecting that both the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus will do well in India and help the company regain its smartphone market share that it’s been losing to Chinese competitors in recent quarters. Samsung still holds one-fifth of the phone market in the country as of Q4 2016, but the company is adamant to improve its lead over other original equipment manufacturers that are looking to undercut it. The company is also hoping that consumers in India will consider purchasing the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus over their competitors thanks to their integration with Samsung Pay, its mobile payments platform that launched in the country several weeks ago.
While Samsung’s market share in India has been declining in recent months, the Seoul-based phone maker is still increasing its efforts to compete in the country due to the fact many other markets are starting to experience saturation, while India is still growing in a rapid manner. Industry watchers estimate that Indian consumers will purchase approximately 130 million new handsets over the course of this year, and Samsung is seemingly adamant to seize a major portion of that figure. While it remains to be seen whether the company manages to realize its ambitions, an update on its operations in India is expected to follow shortly. As for the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus, Samsung’s new high-end handsets will already start hitting some markets tomorrow, April 21.