Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+ dominating India’s premium smartphone segment, say analysts

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+ were the most sought-after premium high-end phones in the Indian market, in Q1 2018, according to data released by research firm CyberMedia Research (CMR). According to CMR, Galaxy S9/Galaxy S9+ shipments were 180 per cent higher than Google Pixel 2/ Pixel 2 XL and Apple iPhone 8/iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X during the first quarter of 2018 in the Indian smartphone market.

Apple was right up the charts in Q4 2017 with the launch of the iPhone X and iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, but during Q1 2018, shipments of its premium high-end smartphones declined by 74 per cent, according to the research firm. Apple, in fact, seems to have been hit the most this quarter, with its market share declining from 82 per cent to a paltry 25 per cent. Google, meanwhile, sank from 11 per cent to 2 per cent during the same quarter,, suggesting hype around its Pixel 2 phones may be dying now even as it looks to launch its next-generation Pixel phones in the days to come.

The numbers are particularly encouraging for Samsung since it was pretty quick to launch the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ in India, soon after their global launch. The phones were globally announced in February, and launched in India in March: the fastest ever for a Galaxy S-phone.

The company had initially launched only the 64GB and the 256GB versions of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ phones in India. While the 64GB version of the Galaxy S9 sells in India at Rs 57,900, the top-end 256GB version of the phone is available for Rs 65,900. The Galaxy S9+ meanwhile starts at Rs 64,900 for the 64GB version, going all the way to Rs 72,900 for the top-end 256GB version. Soon after, Samsung also launched the 128GB version of the phones, giving buyers one more option to choose from. The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ 128GB version are available for buying from across online and offline stores at Rs 61,900 and Rs 68,900 respectively.

The Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+ are incremental upgrades to last year’s Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ — largely in design and core hardware — but both the phones offer different set of specifications. In simple terms, while the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ were more or less the same deal differing only in screen size and battery capacities, the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+ are a lot different from each other.

Source:https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/samsung-galaxy-s9-galaxy-s9-dominating-india-s-premium-smartphone-segment-say-analysts-1222256-2018-04-28