Smartphone manufacturers gear up for mid-range segment

A representative of The Gioi Di Dong (Mobile World), the largest smartphone distribution chain in Vietnam, commented that the mid-range, not the high-end segment, is the major battlefield for smartphone manufacturers in 2017. 

He said that competition in prices, new product launches and product features has become fierce. 

Mid-range smartphone are priced at VND3-7 million. To attract more buyers, the phones have new features and high technologies such as dual cameras and fingerprint sensors.

Mobiistar, a Vietnamese brand, marketing its two new products Zumbo S2 Dual (dual camera) and Prime X Max 2018, had to think carefully about the configuration and selling prices as competition in the mid-range market segment is getting crowded. 

Mobiistar’s CEO Ngo Nguyen Kha said at a technology event recently that the company had invested heavily on the configuration, design and features of the two new models, but still kept the prices unchanged compared with old-generation products.

Analysts said that these mid-range products have the highest number of customers, bringing the highest proportion of income. 

There are many choices in the mid-range segment with diverse design, configuration, features and prices, including Vietnamese brands. 

They noted the trend of dual cameras for smartphones. After Apple launched iPhone 7 Plus with dual camera, manufacturers put a dual camera on nearly all of their models. 

Another technology trend is the infinity display that Samsung uses for its Galaxy S8. The iPhone X that Apple officially introduced on September 13 also has an infinity display screen.

MediaTek, the manufacturer of mobile processors, at an event held recently, introduced Helio P25, the new-generation chip designed specifically for smartphones using dual cameras with improvements in multimedia processing capabilities. 

It also introduced 4G LTE connection technologies including VoLTE (voice over LTE), ViLTE (video over LTE), and WFC. 

The Gioi Di Dong released a list of 10 bestsellers in August, most of which were low-cost and mid-range models. None of Apple’s products was named on the list.

Seven out of the 10 products were made by Samsung, while the other three models were made by the Chinese company Oppo.

IDC reported that 3.65 million smartphones were sold in the first quarter of the year, worth VND19.8 trillion. 

The overwhelming majority of the models on the list of the bestsellers were from Samsung and Oppo, which had selling prices of VND3-8 million.