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Samsung aims to offset decline in China with 5G phones

By Song Su-hyun

Published : Sept. 18, 2019 - 17:14

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Samsung Electronics is aiming to recover its declining market share in China with a diverse lineup of 5G-enbaled localized devices, including the latest hit Galaxy Fold, according to industry sources Wednesday.

Starting with the Galaxy Note 10 series that was launched last week, Samsung hopes to restore its declining status.

“The Galaxy Note 10+ 5G is just the start for China’s 5G market,” a Samsung official said during the launch event. “We hope our new products will help Samsung reclaim its leading role in China,”

The South Korean tech giant is set to introduce a few more 5G models in China this year. 


A Chinese model features the W2019 phone. (Samsung Electronics) A Chinese model features the W2019 phone. (Samsung Electronics)

The upcoming lineup officially includes the world’s first foldable smartphone Galaxy Fold.

After going on sale in Korea and the US this month, the Fold is highly expected to be launched in China next month, although its schedule hasn’t been officially announced.

Other than the Fold, Samsung is preparing to increase its diverse lineup of 5G smartphones in China this year.

According to some news reports, the company is working on a new premium 5G flip phone model dubbed as W20 5G.

The W series was first launched exclusively for China last year. The W2019 edition featured a 4.2-inch full HD AMOLED display on the outside and inside of the flip phone with two variants for storage -- 128 gigabytes and 256 gigabytes.

This year, the new model is expected to come with 512GB storage RAM and support the 5G network.

“We can’t confirm details of the W series for China yet,” said a Samsung official. “It’s true though that the company is trying to regain ground in China with various 5G models.”

Samsung took a 0.8 percent share in the country’s smartphone market as of the first quarter of 2019.

Chinese mobile carriers are carrying out trial 5G services in major cities with a schedule to commercialize the network by the end of this month.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)