Competition heats up: Samsung goes to war, cuts prices to dare Apple turf

South Korean mobile giant drops price of flagship S24 range by 15-35% to duel iPhone 16

South Korean mobile giant Samsung announced price cuts of 15-35 per cent on its flagship S24 range of mobile phones, launched in January. The discounted models will be available exclusively on Flipkart starting September 26, as Samsung takes on Apple’s iPhone 16 range, which went on sale this past Friday.

This move follows Apple Inc’s strategy of narrowing the price gap between the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which competes with Samsung’s top-tier S24 Ultra. The price differential has now halved to Rs 14,900 compared to previous models in the same series. Apple’s iPhone 16 directly competes with Samsung’s base S24 phone, as both are priced similarly.

Moreover, Apple Inc is offering exchange deals on all iPhone 16 models, depending on the model and the condition of the old phone, along with cash discounts on credit cards of up to Rs 65,000 — making the phone a more attractive purchase. In contrast Samsung's  trade ins are up to Rs 45,000 at the top end say experts .   

Samsung’s Flipkart offer, which runs for a week, will bring down the prices of all S24 models below those of the iPhone 16. For instance, the base S24 will be Rs 20,000 cheaper than the iPhone 16, and the S24 Ultra will be Rs 34,901 less expensive.

For both companies, the festival season accounts for about 23 per cent of annual sales.

According to Counterpoint Research, overall smartphone sales are expected to grow by 3-4 per cent this year, but the high-end market (phones priced above Rs 45,000) is projected to grow by 15-16 per cent. Apple and Samsung dominate this segment, accounting for 90 per cent of the sales, with Apple capturing two-thirds of the market and Samsung holding most of the remainder.

For Samsung, the focus is on protecting its turf among Android users in the Rs 30,000-45,000 market segment, where it holds a 40-45 per cent share. Apple has minimal or no presence in this range.

“Samsung wants to ensure that users looking to upgrade don’t switch from Android to Apple’s iOS platform. That’s why Samsung offers a range of products, from the S24 to foldable phones, to keep them within the Android ecosystem,” says Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research. It also supports with finance- six out of ten phones of Samsung phones are bought through finance schemes.  

On the ground, however, iPhone stocks — especially the higher-end iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max — are running low on platforms like Flipkart and Reliance Digital, with many pincodes showing no availability. Retailers like Unicorn, one of Apple’s largest resellers, report that only the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are in stock.

A senior executive from a phone retail company said, “E-commerce players are receiving very limited stock of the new phones; 90-95 per cent of inventory until the festival season is being distributed through Apple’s extensive retail and point-of-sale network across the country.”

Analysts ascribe the shortage of Pro and Pro Max models to the fact that they are currently being imported. It will take a few months before they are assembled domestically. Meanwhile, the prices of these models have already been adjusted downwards. In contrast, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, which are made in India, do not face supply shortages.