Smartphone cos offer discounts on premium models

New Delhi: Smartphone makers such as Xiaomi, Samsung and Oppo have rolled out substantial discounts on premium flagship models, kicking off an intense battle in the premium segment just days after Apple Inc announced aggressive pricing and festive season offers.

Chinese handset maker Oppo has cut prices of its premium device by Rs 7,000, while Xiaomi slashed prices of eight models along with variants, with the steepest Rs 5,000 discount on its new 5G phone.

Samsung’s two high-end phones will be cheaper by Rs 28,000 and Rs 30,000, respectively, on its website. Taiwanese brand ASUS, too, has reduced prices of its premium device by Rs 7,000. Affordable and midrange phones are also retailing at discounts of Rs 1,000-2,000 across all major smartphone brands. “We are seeing some massive discounts across premium portfolios of brands in response to Apple’s aggressive pricing,” said Prachir Singh, analyst at Counterpoint Research.

“Brands also understand that this festive season, demand will not be a pull-factor because of reduction in purchasing power, with consumers delaying upgrade cycles to next year. So, brands are pushing the huge inventory build-up with such deals to entice them to purchase,” he said.

This is the first time that well-positioned midrange smartphone brands such as Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo and Realme had forayed into the premium category, where brands are priced above Rs 30,000, ET had reported. “This festive season, consumers can expect to find discounts of as much as 60% and cashback offers of up to 12.5% on select products,” said Asim Warsi, senior V-P of Samsung India.