Samsung in rush to launch new budget smartphones: Report

Seoul: Samsung Electronics is releasing new budget smartphones in the global market to boost sales, as the South Korean tech giant eyes fending off challenges against its rivals amid the pandemic.

Samsung launched the Galaxy A12 on Wednesday in South Korea with a price tag of 275,000 won ($245).

The new budget phone comes with a quad rear camera setup with a 48MP main shooter, 5MP ultra-wide lens, 2MP depth sensor and 2MP macro camera. It also has an 8-MP selfie camera.

The A12 boasts a 6.5-inch display and packs a 5,000mAh battery. It has 3GB RAM with 32GB internal storage that also supports a MicroSD slot.

In India, Samsung released the Galaxy M02 on February 2 at an introductory price of Rs 6,799.

The M02 has a dual rear camera setup that sports a 13MP main camera and a 2MP macro sensor. It also has a 5MP camera on the front.

Powered by MediaTek 6739 chipset, the 6.5-inch smartphone also packs a 5,000mAh battery. It comes with 2GB RAM and 3GB RAM options with 32GB internal storage.

In Vietnam, Samsung introduced the M12 that is based on the A12. The latest device has the same camera settings as the A12 but boasts a larger battery of 6,000mAh, reports Yonhap news agency.

It also offers more memory options with up to 6GB RAM and 128GB built-in storage.

After launching its new flagship Galaxy S21 series last month, industry insiders said Samsung is introducing cheap handsets to give an extra push to its smartphone sales that struggled last year.

According to market researcher Counterpoint Research, Samsung defended its leading status in the 2020 smartphone market, but its market share dropped from 20 per cent to 19 per cent as its shipments declined from 296.8 million units to 255.7 million units.

When it comes to fourth-quarter sales, Samsung was outperformed by Apple Inc., which posted robust sales thanks to its new 5G smartphone, the iPhone 12.

In the fourth quarter, Apple had a market share of 21 per cent after shipping 81.9 million smartphones, while Samsung posted a market share of 16 per cent after shipping 62.5 million smartphones.