We have long held the opinion that Samsung needs to do a lot of hard work in the budget segment of the market to stay competitive. The company has tried recently with lineups like the Galaxy J and Galaxy E series, but it still has a long way to go. We recently heard that Samsung might stop selling budget smartphones in the Netherlands, and it seems that is indeed going to be the case.
According to an official from a Netherlands-based telecom website, Samsung will stop shipping devices that cost less than Euro 250 to the Netherlands and a couple of other countries in Europe. The Korean giant will still make these devices for other markets, but those in the Netherlands and those unnamed countries might see the option to buy cheap Samsung devices disappear in the near future.
If this is true, it suggests that Samsung might be shifting its focus to emerging markets for low-cost smartphones, a good indication of which is the company's recent focus on markets like India with phones developed for the local population. We have asked Samsung for an official statement on the matter, and we will be sure to update this post with their reply should we get one.
What do you think? Would it be a good thing for Samsung to stop selling affordable smartphones in some markets? The company hasn't really been able to compete with low-cost smartphones from other manufacturers (such as Xiaomi and Motorola), but should it simply stop trying instead of focusing on improving its devices?
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