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| Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung's IT & Mobile Communications division, speaks during a press conference at the Conrad New York hotel, Friday. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics |
Korean tech giant expects to bounce back in China, India
By Baek Byung-yeul
NEW YORK -- Samsung Electronics said it will solidify its leadership in the global mobile phone market by expanding its business in emerging markets such as India and China, its mobile chief said Friday.
"Samsung will solidify its leadership in the global smartphone market as we have competitiveness in terms of responding quickly to market changes," Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung's IT & Mobile Communications division, told reporters, Friday.
"With more competitive budget smartphones in the lineup, Samsung will expand our business in emerging markets, and we will also do everything possible to ensure future growth by investing more in future technologies such as Bixby, SmartThings and the 5G network."
Better known as DJ Koh overseas, Koh has been in charge of Samsung's mobile products and networking equipment since December 2015. He visited New York to introduce Samsung's latest high-end smartphone Galaxy Note 9.
Despite increased pressure from Chinese phone makers, Samsung has retained its top status in the global smartphone market. However, the outlook doesn't look so good.
While Samsung smartphones accounted for 20 percent of China's market in 2013, the company lost its ground in the world's largest smartphone market with its market share shrinking below 1 percent. The company also has been in a neck-and-neck competition with Chinese makers in India, the world's second-largest smartphone market.
Koh admitted Samsung has been having tough times in China, but added the company will never give up the Chinese market.
"I have said we are struggling in China. That's true, and it takes time to recover. The only thing I can guarantee is we have done everything we can do (to revive the smartphone business in China) over the past year, ranging from restructuring our organization and preparing for the opening of a new store there. I think we can recover our market share next year," Koh said.
"In terms of market size, China is the market we cannot ignore. I visit China at least once every month. I will visit China next week as well. We will recover at all costs."
In India, Samsung has been competing with Xiaomi. It has been losing to the Chinese maker in terms of shipments since the fourth quarter of last year. To become the top player again, Samsung beefed up its budget phone lineup. Also the company completed construction of the world's largest smartphone factory there last month.
Koh said Samsung will focus more on expanding the budget phone lineup as emerging markets such as India and South America have shown strong demand for cheap phones rather than premium phones.
"There have been news reports that Xiaomi overtook Samsung in India last year. But in terms of revenue, we are far ahead of Xiaomi. The most important thing is revenue and profitability. We overtook Xiaomi in the second quarter in terms of shipment," Koh said.
Koh said Samsung had to yield its market share to Chinese makers as the company has put too much of its focus on high-end smartphones.
"For the past six to seven years, I have used 70 percent of my energy on premium smartphones, but the high-end phones have less importance in emerging markets such as India, South America and Southeast Asia," Koh said.
Koh said Samsung's upcoming mid-range smartphones will solidify its lead in emerging markets, featuring more innovative technologies.
Speaking of the Galaxy Note 9, Koh expects the smartphone would be able to meet more consumers than the Note 8.
"The Note 9 comes with improved performance, a Bluetooth-supported S Pen stylus and smarter camera. Using HDMI cable it also gives users a PC-like experience, the Samsung DeX. Instead of using a docking station, users can connect the Note 9 to a monitor using a HDMI cable. I expect the Note 9 will sell more than the Note 8," Koh said.
The Note 9 features a larger battery to offering extended battery life. Koh said he is confident about the battery safety.
"We used a 3,500 mAh battery for the Note 7 and reduced it to 3,300 mAh for the Note 8. Now, the Note 9 has a 4,000 mAh battery. Since then we have adopted the eight-point battery safety check and our phone developers now have confidence in the safety of the battery. The battery for the Note 9 will be the safest ever," Koh said.
During the Note 9 launch event, Samsung also unveiled its first artificial intelligence (AI) speaker Galaxy Home.
Though it is powered by Samsung's AI assistant Bixby, Koh emphasized he has focused more on sound quality of the speaker.
"The design of the Galaxy Home is motivated by hangari (traditional Korean pottery jar). Though the speaker features AI technology, we put our focus on delivering quality sound. The sound technology is tuned by Harman," Koh said.
Starting with the Galaxy Note 9, more Samsung devices will adopt the updated version of Bixby.
Starting with the Galaxy Note 9, more Samsung devices will adopt the updated version of Bixby. Samsung has said it will make the AI assistant as a globally accepted platform.
"Regarding the Galaxy Home and new Bixby, we will give more details at the upcoming Samsung Developer Conference in San Francisco, November. At that time, we will completely open up the application programming interface (API) and software development kit of Bixby. This will be a great beginning for Samsung Electronics," Koh said.
Koh was not shy about his desire to make Samsung the world's first company to release a foldable smartphone.
"I don't want to hand over the world's first title," Koh said when asked when Samsung will launch the foldable smartphone.
Stating he will make an official announcement of the foldable phone, Koh said he wants it to do "well."
"Once we launch the foldable phone, I would like to have a great response (from the industry and consumers)," Koh said. "It is not far away. We will have an event solely for the foldable phone."
Koh didn't confirm the price range and the number of shipments of the foldable phone, but said it won't be cheap as the phone will have two independent screens.
