If there is one complaint Indian users (at least the tech savvy ones) have repeatedly levied against Samsung's flagships in recent times, it's the lack of LTE connectivity on those phones, a result of Samsung using its own Exynos chips in India (while sneakily showcasing the Snapdragon variant in stores.) LTE is yet to take off in the country, but consumers are understandably adamant that Samsung should be following in other manufacturers' footsteps and making phones with LTE support available instead of not offering the option altogether, and it looks like Samsung is finally about to cave in to user demands.
According to an Indian retailer, Samsung will soon be launching the Snapdragon 801 variant of the Galaxy S5 (the SM-G900I model), with support for Indian LTE bands. Competing devices like the HTC One M8 already support those bands, and Samsung will finally be joining the fray at a welcome time, since one of the country's biggest carriers is expected to launch its LTE networks later this year, while another has been slowly expanding its LTE networks in recent months.
The phone will have a suggested retail price of Rs. 56,000 (about $930), which is considerably higher than what the Exynos variant was launched for (Rs. 51,500, or $850.) However, given the Exynos model is now selling for less than Rs. 40,000 (around $660) in the country from most retailers, the Snapdragon model should see a similar price reduction a few weeks after launch.
