Samsung Will Focus on Mid-Range and Budget Smartphones in 2016: Report

Samsung has realigned its focus towards mid-range and budget smartphones, according to a report quoting an unnamed company official. The official added the South Korean tech giant will be lowering its smartphone shipments by as much as 12 percent in 2016.

Speaking with Korea Times, another unnamed official is quoted to say the 12 percent cut by Samsung means that it is planning to ship around 420 million to 430 million units next year. "This is more about adjustments to changing market environment," he said.

This also means that users can expect some big announcements in the mid-range Galaxy A and low-end Galaxy J series. It is worth mentioning that Bernstein Research in a note to investors also said that, "The mid-end A-series and low-end J-Series posted a strong shipment growth. We had doubts that Samsung had a competitive advantage in this mid- and low-end segment, but the actual volume was a surprise."

In addition, an official is quoted to say the upcoming Galaxy S7 smartphone will be accompanied by an Edge model as the "curved models are receiving a better response."

"With its display affiliate of Samsung Display improving production yields of curved mobile panels, S7 sales prospects seem solid and this will help Samsung maintain its global share next year," the company official was quoted to say.

On a related note, Samsung on Thursday launched its Galaxy A9 smartphone in China. The South Korean tech giant is yet to reveal the pricing and availability details of the smartphone. The Android 5.1.1 Lollipop-based Samsung Galaxy A9 falls in the company's premium lineup of smartphones and features more powerful innards under-the-hood as compared to the recently launched Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016), Galaxy A5 (2016), and the Galaxy A7 (2016).