News
Samsung beats Apple to reclaim the lead in the premium phone market
Samsung commanded a 20% market share of the whole Indian market during the first quarter of 2023, according to reports from Counterpoint Research. Samsung had a stunning year-over-year rise in the ultra-premium category, which includes products priced above $45,000 each. The findings state that smartphone shipments to India fell 3% YoY in the period of April to June Q2 2023. The premium smartphone market, which grew 112 percent YoY in Q2, contributed a record 17% to global shipments.
In the third consecutive quarter, Samsung maintained its market share dominance in the Indian smartphone market at 18%. With a market share of 34%, Samsung also took the top spot in the premium category, which comprises gadgets costing more than 30,000. There is an increased demand for the newest premium A-series and F-series smartphones, as well as promotions on the Galaxy Z Flip 3, Galaxy S21 FE, and Samsung Finance+, which contributed to this surge.
With a commanding market share of 59%, Apple nonetheless maintained its leadership position in the ultra-premium category. Apple offers iPhones like the iPhone SE 2022 and iPhone 11 for less than Rs 45,000. Shipments and market share for Samsung increased during the quarter as a result of the Galaxy S23 smartphone series and the firm’s strategy.
Other brands, like Vivo, held on to second place, being the only top-five brand to enjoy YoY growth. With 68% YoY growth, OnePlus had the fastest rate of growth in the second quarter of the Indian smartphone market. The shipping volume has decreased for Xiaomi, which has grabbed the third-place position with a market share of 15%. Realme maintained its fourth-place ranking with a 12% market share.
The cumulative number of 5G smartphone shipments in India surpassed 100 million in Q2 2023 as the use of 5G networks expanded, and shipments of 5G smartphones increased 59% YoY in the quarter. 10% rise in the percentage of 4G feature phones in feature phone shipments overall in Q2 2023. By the end of 2023, it is predicted to reach around 18%.
Thanks to “TOI“
Samsung Electronics expanded the camera sensors’ family by introducing the three latest ISOCELL camera sensors to bring a new revolution to the market. Potentially, the forthcoming Galaxy S25 Ultra could feature any of these sensors, or maybe all.
The Korean giant has announced the 50MP ISOCELL GNJ, 200MP ISOCELL HP9, and 50MP ISOCELL JN5 camera sensors. It seems that the giant debuted these cameras for telephoto ultrawide cameras in high-end smartphones, most probably the Galaxy S25 Ultra since it’s the next in the line to be debuted. Samsung introduced three new camera sensors:
- ISOCELL GNJ
- ISOCELL HP9
- ISOCELL JN5
ISOCELL HP9
The latest ISOCELL HP9 is a 200MP image sensor particularly designed for telephoto cameras on smartphones. It features 200 million 0.56-micrometer pixels in a 1/1.4-inch. It is the smallest 200MP camera in the industry. It features 0.56 μm native pixels, though pixel binning permits it to integrate up to 16 nearby pixels. This increases the pixel size to 2.24 μm and produces 12 MP shots, especially in dark scenes.
It offers several capabilities like upgraded light sensitivity, autofocus, and color reproduction; its predecessor, the sensor, is also preeminent in low-light conditions with its Tetra pixel technology that integrates pixels for vibrant images. The large format of this sensor permits premium zoom without even lowering image clarity.
ISOCELL GNJ
ISOCELL GNJ is a 50MP dual-pixel sensor with 1.0μm pixels in a 1/1.57-inch optical format. It features dual-pixel autofocus, which suggests that it delivers great focus accuracy and speed in several scenarios, such as low-light and other difficult scenes. The giant has also offered in-sensor zoom functionality for delivering optical-quality zoom on top of the optical zoom lens with which it will be paired, offering further zoom without much loss in quality. The leaks have already reported that the upcoming Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25+ will feature a 50MP primary sensor. The brand may attach ISOCELL GNJ or its variants.
ISOCELL JN5
The ISOCELL JN5 could also be housed on the Galaxy S25 phones. This 50MP sensor features a ½.76-inch optical format and 0.64μm pixels. Noticeably, these specs make it compatible to fit anywhere with a rear camera, selfie camera, ultrawide camera, and zoom camera.
It has already been reported that the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s ultrawide camera could introduce a new version of the 50MP ISOCELL JN1 sensor with an ½.76 inch optical format. This report and a newly launched sensor strongly suggest that the Galaxy S25 Ultra could feature an ISOCELL JN5. The company states that this sensor boasts dual vertical transfer gate (Dual VTG) technology, which helps reduce noise in low-light conditions, and also features Super Quad Phase Detection (Super QPD) and dual slope gain (DSG) technology.
Follow Sam Lover on Your Favorite Social Media Platforms
Samsung started working on the Galaxy S25 series, which is supposed to be launched early next year. This forthcoming device is expected to be priced higher as compared to its predecessor.
Samsung will expand its high-end S series by introducing a next-gen smartphone series named the Galaxy S25. It’s too early to discuss the Galaxy S25, but leaks and rumors are doing their jobs by offering more details about the upcoming Galaxy S25. This upcoming device is expected to cost more than the current S-series devices.
The reason behind this report appears to be that a Galaxy S25 will be more expensive than a Galaxy S24 due to its higher manufacturing costs. The US chip designer Qualcomm could push the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 into production in the second half of the year. This latest chipset is expected to boost AI processing.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will be a truly advanced chip, but its high-end tech advancements might lead to higher costs, which could translate into a price hike for the upcoming Galaxy S25. The report suggested that, according to a recent prediction from industry watcher Ming-Chi Kuo, Qualcomm might increase the cost of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 by 25–30% compared to the Gen 3 solution.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will be manufactured on the 3nm N3E process by TSMC; it’s the same technique used to build Apple’s A18 Pro chip. This shift will supposedly cause the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 to be 25–30% more expensive than its predecessor. Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 costs around $190–$200; by this metric, the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 might cost $260.
However, Samsung could deal with the higher expenses of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 for the Galaxy S25 by absorbing the cost or reducing the quality in other areas, such as the battery or display, but this could be risky, such as switching to its in-house Exynos 2500 chip. The upcoming chipset will be fabricated from TSMC’s most advanced process and should bring performance gains to the CPU, GPU, and NPU (AI processing).
Follow Sam Lover on Your Favorite Social Media Platforms
We are in the middle of the month, and Samsung is rolling out this month’s June 2024 security patch for Galaxy S21 smartphones in the European market.
Samsung Galaxy S21 series, which includes three models – Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra, is receiving a new June 2024 security patch in Europe. The brand has already rolled out this update for the Galaxy S21 smartphone in the US on the Verizon network. The update for the European market has arrived with its specific firmware version, as mentioned here –
- Galaxy S21 – G991BXXSBGXED
- Galaxy S21+ – G996BXXSBGXED
- Galaxy S21 Ultra – G998BXXSBGXED
Samsung’s June 2024 security update fixed all the bugs and known issues that were housed in the previous version and were creating some inconvenience while performing a few functions. Since all the bugs were fixed with the update, it will surely enhance the overall system software.
The June 2024 security patch fixes 59 security vulnerabilities to upgrade the security and privacy of the device. It also boosts the overall system performance, security, reliability, and stability of the device to deliver a seamless and flawless performance.
The Galaxy S21 users currently receding in Europe are eligible to download the update. Interested users can easily download the update by just following simple steps – Go to Settings >> Software Update >> Download and install.
Follow Sam Lover on Your Favorite Social Media Platforms