SEOUL: Samsung Electronics is set to unveil a new, square-shaped foldable smartphone and updated versions of its flagship Galaxy S range on Tuesday, seeking to revive sales after ceding its smartphone crown to Apple Inc last quarter. “For now, foldables are a super-premium product that can drive profits or a ‘halo effect’ for the Samsung brand.”Limited foldable display productivity and capacity will constrain Samsung’s ability to boost the foldable phone production sharply, industry officials and analysts say. Samsung is also expected to launch three variants of Galaxy S premium smartphones, whose sales are expected to exceed that of predecessors, helped by competitive pricing and powerful cameras, researcher Counterpoint said. Samsung lost its No.1 smartphone position to Apple in the December quarter, according to Strategy Analytics as cheaper iPhone 11 pricing helped the US firm enjoy its best growth performance since 2015. Research firm TrendForce forecasts global smartphone production will decrease by 12 per cent in the first quarter to a five-year low but cut its production estimate for Samsung by just 3 per cent.

Source: New Strait Times February 11, 2020 05:15 UTC