Yesterday, Samsung announced the pricing of the Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Watch 6 series, and Galaxy Tab S9 series in India. While announcing the price of its new devices for the Indian market, Samsung also revealed that its new foldable phones sold in India are also made in India. The company also announced that Galaxy Watch 6 can make NFC payments in India via Samsung Wallet.
While Samsung has its biggest smartphone factory in Noida, India, its foldable phones weren't ever made in India. Earlier Galaxy Z series phones sold in India were assembled in South Korea and Vietnam, and this is the first time the company is building its foldable phones in India. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Galaxy Z Fold 5 units sold in India are made (assembled) in India.
However, despite them being made locally, the pricing of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Galaxy Z Fold 5 haven't been reduced compared to their predecessors. In fact, in some cases, the new foldable phones are now pricier than their predecessors. So, the tax breaks that the company gets for making its phones in India aren't being passed on to Indian consumers. Despite being India's biggest smartphone maker and India being one of the most important markets for Samsung, it isn't offering enough benefits to consumers.
Samsung often offers inferior pre-order and trade-in deals in India compared to the US, Europe, and South Korea. For example, Samsung offers a free upgrade to the 512GB version when you pay for the 256GB version of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 in the US. No such pre-order deal exists in India. It also offers discounted prices for other Galaxy products when pre-ordering the Galaxy Z Flip 5 in the US, but those offers are missing in India.
To learn more about the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Galaxy Z Fold 5, you can watch our hands-on video of Samsung's newest foldable phones below.
