The upcoming Samsung Z3, the Korean giant’s second phone based on the Tizen operating system, will offer decent mid-range specifications at a jaw-dropping price of just Rs 8,490.
The price makes the Z3 the cheapest phone with an AMOLED display. However, the downside to the model is the Spreadtrum SC7730S chipset, which doesn’t have 4G.
The highlight of the phone is a 5-inch 720p AMOLED display. At present, 4G phones with HD AMOLED displays, such as the Panasonic Eluga Z, are priced at Rs 13,500 and above. The HTC One E9s, whose specifications are very close to the leaked specifications of the Samsung Z3, will be priced around Rs 22,000 in India.
Similarly, the Micromax Canvas Knight 2, which also comes with 4G and an HD AMOLED display, is priced at Rs 15,000 in India.
The phone has a battery with a capacity of of 2.6 Ah, 8 GB of internal memory, 1 GB of RAM and supports MicroSD cards of up to 128 GB.
The phone will be available on Snapdeal starting next week.
The high cost of the traditional retail channel has been a key area of weakness for Samsung as the company does not go for ‘online only’ launches like main competitors Lenovo, Huawei, Motorola and Xiaomi.
Online only model means that the phone’s distribution cost can be kept to just Rs 500 or even less than that. In the traditional model, distribution and dealer costs come to a few thousand rupees.
Largely because of this, Samsung’s phones have come out to be more costly compared to those from Lenovo and Xiaomi.
For example, the upcoming Galaxy J7 is likely to be priced around Rs 15,000, while the Lenovo K3 Note, which has better specifications than the Samsung model, is priced at Rs 9,999 on Flipkart.
However, it is more difficult for an established brand like Samsung to restrict its models to ‘online only’ as doing so will affect its relationships with distributors and dealers who account for most of its current sales.
Even Microsoft (Nokia), which has one of the most entrenched partnerships with distributors and dealers in India, was forced to go with ‘online only’ model for its Lumia 640 phone to beat back aggressive low-cost competitors.
The Tizen OS is reported to be lighter than Android. As a result, the phones run snappier. But the ‘lightness’ comes at a price – application support. Many popular apps do not run on Tizen OS, and this has led to negative customer feedback about the first phone Z1, currently available at Rs 4,990 on Amazon.