4G to drive smartphone sales in India: Samsung

Kolkata, Feb 18: Korean mobile phone maker Samsung today said that smartphone sales in India would be driven by 4G connectivity which is being offered by two leading operators now.

"4G will drive the sales of smartphone growth in India. Samsung enjoys nearly 60 per cent market share in 4G smartphone sales in India", Samsung India Director (mobile business) Manu Sharma told reporters.

Launching the new 'Galaxy A 2016' smartphone, Sharma said as per GfK data, Samsung's market share in value terms was 45.9 per cent. Going by the latest trends, Sharma said that the growth in smartphone market in the country would be around 16-18 per cent in value terms.

Asked how Samsung, already the leader, would counter the threat from Chinese makers like Lenovo which is flooding the market in the sub-Rs 15,000 bracket, Sharma said that it would continuously engage in innovation to give best products to the consumers.

He said that Samsung had set up a R&D centre in Noida, Bengaluru and Delhi where 10,000 engineers are working. It also has a design centre and a facility to manufacture all smartphones and feature phones in Noida.

PTI