Samsung India to launch a new “Galaxy On” device with 4GB RAM in January

We've entered a new year and yet again we will be seeing a lot of new smartphone launches in the coming days. And just as we say this, new reports now suggest that Samsung is preparing itself to make some fresh announcements this year. Besides, in a bid to take on Chinese smartphone manufacturers this new year, Samsung India is reportedly gearing up to launch a new "Galaxy On" device in the third week of January.

Industry sources have now told IANS that the latest device will be priced at around Rs. 15,000 - a key mid-price segment in the highly-competitive Indian market. "Galaxy On" will come in two variants -- both with 4GB RAM, the sources disclosed.

It looks like Samsung is going with the online route and the report states that the new device will likely be an Amazon India exclusive, with a focus on design, performance and photography elements.

Talking about some of the features and specs, the new device could bear great similarity to Samsung Galaxy On Max which was launched last year at Rs. 16,900.

This device was equipped with a best-in-class camera tailor-made for low-light photography, enabled by its flagship f/1.7 aperture, the company had said. The smartphone further came with 5.7-inch full HD display and was powered by a 1.69GHz Octa-Core processor paired with 4GB of RAM. The handset offered 32GB internal memory which was expandable up to 256GB via micro-SD card. As for the cameras, Galaxy On Max sports 13MP cameras both at the rear and front with LED flash.

However, the main focus of Samsung with the new "Galaxy On" will be to strengthen its mid-range segment where it has witnessed strong competition from Chinese brands.

According to last year's results, Samsung registered over a 27 percent growth in mobile business revenue for the financial year 2016-17, touching a mammoth Rs 34,300 crore. Samsung also became the undisputed leader in the highly competitive and price-sensitive domestic smartphone market.

Besides, with this kind of growth, Samsung did eclipse the sales of key Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, Lenovo and even the Cupertino-based giant Apple. But the company is aiming for more.

Meanwhile, the South Korean giant had 60 percent market share (by value) in the premium segment for the August-September-October period, according to German market research firm GfK. For the overall smartphone market, Samsung had over 45 percent market share (by value) from October to December 2017.