 "Samsung to make Galaxy S24 series in Noida for sale in India, export")
Korean electronics major Samsung will manufacture its latest artificial intelligence-loaded Galaxy S24 series at its India factory for both domestic sale as well as exports, senior company officials said here.
The company unveiled its latest flagship device -- Galaxy S24 series -- with focus on Artificial Intelligence- (AI)-based applications to enhance productivity like real-time voice call and message translation in select languages, including Hindi, improved image editing, camera effects to woo content creators, and Corning Gorilla Armor glass to enhance durability of display.
"This is a device of the future. While the world talks about AI as the next big thing, the Galaxy S24 series brings it live to you. I am very happy to announce that Galaxy S24 series will be manufactured at our Noida factory in India," Samsung India President and CEO J B Park said.
He said consumers in India can start pre-booking Galaxy S24 series smartphones from January 18 and it will go on sale from January 31.
Samsung has priced Galaxy S24 series smartphones with storage capacity in the range of 8GB system memory (ROM) and 256 GB storage (RAM) to 12 GB ROM with 1 terabyte (TB) RAM.
The devices will be available in India in the price range of Rs 79,999 to Rs 1,59,999 apiece.
"At Samsung, we are proud to be driving premiumisation in India. I am positive that India will be at the forefront of embracing the AI revolution by operating Galaxy S24," Park said.
Samsung India Senior Vice-President for mobile business Raju Pullan said the entire S24 series will be manufactured in India for India as well as for the other parts of the world.
"Entire range of Galaxy S24 series will be manufactured in India, for India and we will be also making it available for the world from India," Pullan said.
The company has come up with promotional offers to woo existing users of Samsung S series.
"There is a special announcement for India. We will have an upgrade programme for India where consumers can buy Galaxy S24 Ultra 512 GB at an effective price almost equal to the price of Galaxy S23 Ultra 256 GB version," Pullan said.
The company will offer similar deals on other Galaxy S24 models.
Cybermedia Research, Head, Industry Intelligence Group, Prabhu Ram, said fuelled by premium smartphone segment growth, the S24's true success hinges on Samsung's ability to clearly articulate the value of its AI features to consumers.
"Samsung's Galaxy S24 series marks a bold AI-infused pivot, aiming to redefine the smartphone experience with purpose and impact. This strategic shift aligns with a 2024 industry trend where OEMs will look to leverage on-device and cloud AI to unlock new possibilities," he said.
Mobile devices market research and analytics firm Counterpoint Research, Vice President of Research, and Partner, Neil Shah, said the launch of Galaxy S24 series gives the brand an early mover advantage in AI-enabled devices space.
"Premium smartphone segment is growing in India faster than the overall market and Samsung has around 27 per cent market share. It will look for higher market share with momentum around AI. It has brought in features like live translation and other AI applications that will push older Galaxy S series to shift to S24 series," Shah said.
Company targets double-digit sales growth for flagship series
Samsung is targeting double-digit growth for its latest flagship smartphone series, powered with an array of new artificial intelligence features. The devices include built-in live voice and text translation of calls and a new search tool that lets users circle an image on the phone to get related information, tapping the AI suites of Samsung and Google. Samsung is taking a hybrid approach of combining its own AI technologies with those of Google, according to TM Roh, head of Samsung’s mobile business. Bloomberg Bloomberg