Samsung
has launched its latest and highly anticipated flagship smartphones,
Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, in India. The 32GB Galaxy S6 is priced at
Rs 49,900, 64GB at Rs 55,900 and 128GB at Rs 61,900. The 32GB, 64GB and
128GB Galaxy S6 Edge have been priced at Rs 58,900, 64,900 and 70,900,
respectively.
Going
by Samsung’s past launch pricing for its flagship products, the Galaxy
S6 was surprisingly priced under Rs 50,000 for the 32GB variant (the
Samsung Galaxy S5 was launched at Rs 51,500 for a 16GB variant). But
with the Galaxy S6 Edge, Samsung has stuck to its high price point
launch, charging users an almost Rs 10,000 premium for what is
essentially a Samsung Galaxy S6, although with curved edges on both
sides.
No
doubt, the Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge do indeed look beautiful and Samsung has
finally got rid of the plastic build and incorporated metal in the
build. Features such as fast charging, improved camera, improved UI with
less bloatware are certainly good. But to charge a Rs 9,000 premium for
a phone whose internals are the same as the Galaxy S6, makes little
sense.
One
needs to note that although Samsung has priced its Galaxy S6 at Rs
49,900 for the 32GB variant, the Android smartphone market is completely
different now since the Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy S4 launches. The
Chinese smartphone players such as Xiaomi, OnePlus, Oppo and Gionee have
redefined the Android flagship segment in the last one year. By
Samsung’s standards, a sub-Rs 50,000 launch price may seem good, but
today’s smartphone buyer has a lot many choices.
It
is quite evident that Samsung is gunning for users who may be
considering the Apple iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, which have a higher
starting price point. The Apple iPhone 6/6 Plus have recently got a
price hike with the base models starting at Rs 56,000 for the iPhone 6
and Rs 65,000 for the iPhone 6 Plus.
But
here is the kicker. As compared to Apple, Samsung seems to have priced
its phones well. But we also know for a fact that Samsung is known to
slash its flagship phone’s prices within a couple of months, unlike
Apple whose prices pretty much remain the same from launch till the next
refresh cycle.
Take
for instance the Samsung Galaxy S5. It was launched on 11 April 2014 in
India for Rs 51,500, but by 21 April 2014, the price was slashed to Rs
48,990. Not a huge difference you may think. Come mid-June 2014 and the
price for the Samsung Galaxy S5 (16GB variant) slipped further to Rs
36,000, at least on online retail stores. Even with the Samsung Galaxy
Note 4, which was launched for Rs 58,300 last November for the 32GB
variant, the price has now slipped to Rs 49,500 on many online
retailers.
The
Galaxy S5 wasn’t the best Galaxy device Samsung sold, as was evident
from the price drops. By the pricing of the Galaxy S6/S6 Edge, it
dosen’t look like Samsung really wants to disrupt the market. OnePlus
One sells for Rs 21,999 and has last generation’s flagship features.
Xiaomi launched the Mi 4 at Rs 23,999, again with top end features.
Paying almost double this price for the Samsung flagships, is not really
as easy a decision for buyers now than it would have been two years
ago. Xiaomi, with its monster sales in India, is yet to launch its 2015
flagships – the Mi Note and Mi Note Pro, which come with the latest
flagship features.
By
pricing the Galaxy S6 Edge over Rs 55,000 it is a bit difficult to
gauge what message Samsung is sending across. Looking at Samsung’s past
record, it is safe to assume that the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge
prices will drop to (hopefully) sensible levels 6 months down the line.
It is a bit confounding why Samsung does not release their products at
an attractive price point to begin with. Considering small players such
as OnePlus and Xiaomi are willing to sell phones at almost cost price, a
large conglomerate such as Samsung can certainly take a lesser profit
margin to increase sales volumes.
Xiaomi
managed to sell over 1 million smartphones in the August – December
2014 period thanks to its unique flash sales model. According to Hugo
Barra, Xiaomi’s vice president of international said that the big factor
behind the million plus sales, was the “the combination of a small
portfolio and longer average selling time per device.”
Xiaomi
continues to sell older devices in spite of the new product launches.
While Samsung also has a longer average selling time per device (the
Galaxy S4 is still selling at an attractive sub Rs 20k price point) its
product portolio is huge – a strategy which is certainly not helping
Samsung increase sales numbers.
We
all know that Samsung has recorded a not-so-stellar performance as far
as sales were concerned last year. With a high entry point for the
Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge pricing, potential buyers will either wait
for the prices to drop or go for other brands which offer a much better
value proposition than Samsung flagships. Both these scenarios do fairly
little to boost Samsung smartphone sales.
We
would have loved to see the Galaxy S6 under Rs 40,000 and the Galaxy S6
Edge from Rs 45,000 onwards. Six months down the line, we would not be
surprised if the prices are indeed down to these levels. Speakers at the
Galaxy S6 launch mentioned that Samsung will start making the Galaxy S6
and Galaxy S6 Edge in India in the coming months. The phones will be
made for the Indian market and this should get the prices down as there
will not be any duties imposed on the phones.
What
do you’ll think about Samsung’s pricing for the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6
Edge? Do you believe that a Rs 9,000 premium on the Galaxy S6 Edge is
justified? What amount would you be willing to shell out for the phones?
Do let us know in the comments section below.
Posted by : Gizmeon
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