Samsung to manufacture Galaxy Fold 5, Flip 5 phones in India

Seoul: Korean smart devices major Samsung will manufacture its premium flagship devices Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5 in India to meet local requirements, a senior company official said on Thursday.

Samsung plans to launch the most expensive and high-end devices from its stable in India on August 18 and the pre-booking with offers will start at midnight of July 27.

"Both Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Flip 5 will be manufactured at India factory in Noida," Samsung SouthWest Asia President and CEO J B Park said.

According to market research and analysis firm Techarc estimates, foldable (including flip) smartphones will contribute over 1.8 per cent of the total smartphone revenues for 2023.

The estimate implies over 6.35 lakh foldable smartphones will be sold in India during the year which will be less than 0.5 per cent of the total sales by volume estimated for the period.

Samsung started manufacturing the Fold 4 and Flip 4 series in India from December, after four months of their launch.

Samsung India Sr VP (Mobile Business) Raju Pullan said the consumers in India will get "made in India"  Galaxy Fold 5 and Galaxy Flip 5 from the beginning.

"Consumers in India look at products that are value for money, aspirational and add value to them overall. I witness this even in rural markets. If these are provided to consumers, we see strong adoption for new categories," he said.

The Galaxy Fold 5 is priced between Rs 1.54 lakh and Rs 1.85 lakh apiece depending on the internal storage capacity which ranges from 256 GB to 1 TB.

Samsung Galaxy Flip 5 will be available in the price range of Rs 99,999 and Rs 1,09,999 apiece.

CyberMedia Research (CMR) Industry Intelligence Group Head Prabhu Ram said the latest, fifth-generation Fold and Flip are more refined and durable, and will potentially appeal to a much wider cohort of consumer personas.

"As per our research at CMR, foldable shipments in India will potentially grow over 65 per cent year-on-year. While more foldable market entrants have entered the fray with new innovations, Samsung has an edge with its brand salience and market stewardship," Ram said.

Market research and analysis firm Counterpoint Research projects that global foldable smartphone shipments are projected to reach 101.5 million in 2027 from 78.6 million in 2026 and the segment will be dominated by Samsung and Apple. The firm anticipates Apple's foldable iPhone to debut in 2025.

The company will make available its Galaxy Tab S9 series in the price range of Rs 72,999 to Rs 1,33,999 apiece and Galaxy Watch 6 series at starting price of Rs 29,999 on the same dates as its new foldable devices.

According to a market research firm, Samsung led the Indian smartphone market with a 20 per cent share in the January-March 2023 quarter and also remained the leading brand for 5G shipments, accounting for a 24 per cent share.