Samsung claims 40 percent smartphone marketshare in India

Citing market research data, electronic goods major Samsung has claimed its market share in the Indian smartphone space has crossed 40% during June this year. “Our market-share (in the smartphone segment) has crossed 40% by value in June this year,” Samsung India vice president, marketing, IT and mobile division, Asim Warsi said here. He referred to data from GfK and said the company continued to grow for six consecutive months and widened its market-share since January this year. “Our market-share during January 2015 was about 35%,” he said at the launch of its Galaxy A8 handset here. Warsi said the company has launched 16 devices until now this year. According to a previous **report** , for four years, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has basked in the success of its Galaxy smartphones, making billions of dollars competing with Apple Inc in the premium mobile market. The coming years are set to be more sombre for the South Korean tech giant, as it is forced to slash prices and accept lower margins at its mobile division in order to see off competition from rivals including China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Xiaomi Inc in the mid-to-low end of the market. Behind Samsung’s reality-check is the fact it is stuck with the same Android operating system used by its low-cost competitors, who are producing increasingly-capable phones of their own. Margins at Samsung’s mobile division fell to 10.6 percent from 15.5 percent a year earlier during the second quarter of 2015, despite the April launch of its critically acclaimed Galaxy S6 range. It remains the world’s biggest smartphone maker but it is Apple that is reaping most of the rewards. While the U.S. giant’s smartphone sales in its last financial quarter fell short of market expectations, it is still estimated by some analysts to earn 90 percent or more of the industry’s profits.