Samsung unveils Galaxy S9, S9 plus in Indian market

Electronics major Samsung unveiled its flagship smartphones Galaxy S9 and S9+ in the Indian market priced at Rs 57,900 onwards.

The Korean giant had introduced the latest generation of its premium Galaxy S range a couple of days back in Barcelona, Spain.

The phones, which include features like dual aperture and slow-motion video options, will compete with high-end devices like Apples iPhone X and Googles Pixel 2 series. It also has features like dual-stereo speakers and Dolby Atmos surround sound capabilities.

Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will be offered at a price of Rs 57,900 and Rs 64,900 respectively for 64GB variants and Rs 65,900 and Rs 72,900 respectively for 256GB variants. The handsets will be available from March 16.

"We have partnered Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio to ensure Galaxy S9 and S9+ consumers experience data speeds like never before," Samsung India Senior VP, Mobile Business Asim Warsi told reporters here.

He added that the phones can



stream data at about 250Mbps, which is 2.5 times faster than the average smartphone connected to the same network.

Galaxy S9 will come with a 5.8-inch display, 4GB RAM, 12MP rear and 8MP front cameras and 3,000 mAh battery.

Galaxy S9+, on the other hand, features 6.2-inch display, 6GB RAM, 12MP rear and front cameras, and 3,500 mAh battery. Both devices support the expandable memory of up to 400GB.

According to research firm Counterpoint, the premium smartphone segment (priced Rs 30,000 onwards) in India witnessed over 20 per cent growth in 2017 over 2016. The Rs 10,000-15,000 category grew at the fastest pace.

The premium category was the second fastest growing segment (20 per cent year-on-year) by volume, while it expanded by 28 per cent in value terms in 2017, Counterpoint said.

The report added that three brands Apple, OnePlus and Samsung still contribute to 94 per cent of the overall premium market segment.