Samsung Mobile head TM Roh sees rapid upward transition in Indian users across segments

“Market research also shows the Indian market is shifting from feature phones to smartphones and even within smartphones from entry level to mid segment and then premium segment,” he said, adding how the fact that India is the country with the maximum data consumption was one of the main reasons behind this trend.

Samsung is the largest smartphone manufacturer in India in value terms, even though Xiaomi sells more volume, as per Counterpoint Research’s data for all of 2022. However, Samsung is the largest handset manufacturer in India because of its huge presence in the feature phone segment.

In response to another question, Roh said it was in Samsung’s DNA to constantly innovate based on insight from customers. “It is in our management core to listen to customer and reflect their needs in the product,” Roh told Indianexpress.com, adding that the company had many channels for this including its sales, marketing and R&D arms working along with expert researches. “We not only listen to the voice of customers but also bring new innovations to enhance their experience.”

Roh, who globally heads the entire mobile business of Samsung, said with users holding on to their phones for longer dues to economic circumstances, the value of a brand like Samsung had gone up even more. “The more the economic condition is down, the more customers go for a reliable product to use it longer,” he said, adding that the global trends now show that in an economic downturn “instead of purchasing the entry level smartphones and replacing it with new phones”, users “purchase mid-segment or flagship segment” with longer durability.

Roh, who joined Samsung in 1997, has over the years played an instrumental role in the development of the Galaxy brand and its many iconic products, including the foldable smartphones under the Z series which have now been mainstreamed. He is also the youngest president in the company.

On the opportunity in India, Roh underlined how the country is expected to have over a billion smartphone users by 2026 driven by younger users. By then India will have over 600 million being in the 18-35 age group, making it the largest Gen Z segment in the world. “Demand for premium smartphones with a price tag of over $400 in India is rising quickly as the 5G network expands. The 5G smartphone market here is expected to grow by over 60% in 2023 with the premium smartphone market projected to grow by more than 30%,” he said, adding Samsung will be “there for the ride in India”.

Samsung which has been in India for over 27 years now, has always believed in Make in India and Make for India, Roh said. Samsung’s manufacturing facilities in Noida were exporting to multiple markets, he reminded.

With more Android manufacturers entering the premium segment, Roh said the robust ecosystem and multi-device connectivity which Samsung possesses will become the key differentiator. “We are continuing to bring many premium features in collaboration with our partners like Google,” he summed up.