New Delhi, Jul 7 (PTI) Korean electronics major Samsung expects its new Galaxy M34 5G smartphone to consolidate the company's leadership in the sub-Rs 20,000 segment, a senior company official said on Friday.

Samsung India's Senior Director of Mobile Business Aditya Babbar told PTI that the commencement of 5G services has fuelled customer demand for premiumisation of smartphones across all categories.

Also Read | Leqembi, First Alzheimer’s Drug Proven to Slow the Disease’s Progression, Gets Full FDA Approval in US, Medicare Will Now Pay for It.

"We are very confident that this device will help us consolidate our 5G leadership. At the beginning of the year, we have set ourselves a 5G-first portfolio and I am happy to share that in the span of six months, we have launched 12 5G devices and M34 happens to be the 12th one," Babbar said.

He said that the company has made available 5G phones at over 80,000 retail stores.

Also Read | Employment News: Maharashtra Added 30% of New Jobs in India in Last Five Years, Says Official.

According to Counterpoint Research, Samsung led the India smartphone market for the second consecutive quarter with a 20 per cent share in the March 2023 quarter.

It also remained the leading brand for 5G smartphone shipments, accounting for a 24 per cent share during the quarter.

"We all want great technology at an affordable price. We have created a very unique proposition for consumers to own a 5G phone at Rs 44 a day. All these things, we feel have been very important in our strategy to drive 5G in this country," Babbar said.

The company launched Galaxy M34 with 6.5 inch full high definition and super Amoled display, 6,000 mAH battery with 6GB system and 128 GB RAM for Rs 16,999 -- a segment which despite recording steepest decline in March 2023 quarter shipments still remains highly aggressive.

Samsung has priced Galaxy M34 with higher storage of 8GB internal storage and 128 GB RAM at Rs 18,999. It will go on sale from July 15 on Amazon and Samsung websites as well through select retail stores.

Both the variants will come with three cameras including a 50 megapixel (MP) camera with optical image stablisation (OIS) feature, 8 MP 120 degree ultra wide lens and a 13 MP high resolution front camera.

"We see with 5G , the needs are also changing. Consumers want a great device which is made for gaming. For a creator, a camera is very important. Consumers now want all and tech comes at a price. So, we see a lot of premiumisation happening and we are very confident with this device (Galaxy M34). It ticks all boxes," Babbar said.

He said that the company has been recording higher growth in non-metro cities.

"Our rest of India market has grown faster than metros. What has gone behind it is affordability. Today Samsung Finance is available in more than 50-60 thousands outlets. That has empowered consumers to own a device at Rs 44 a day," he said.

Samsung has also partnered with SnapChat for a Fun Mode feature in Galaxy M34 5G, which integrates SnapChat filters with the in-built camera.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)