Samsung released the Samsung Galaxy S10 phones last month, and the devices have sold extremely well, as they broke pre-order records in both the US and UK. The South Korean company is hoping to use the S10 trio as leverage in a bid to win back some much-needed market share in China.
Samsung had a hefty 20% market share in China back in 2013 but that figure has plummeted over the years, with the company having under 1% about a year ago. That fall is, in part, due to the rise of local OEMs like Huawei and Xiaomi, with OPPO and Vivo also providing competition from the sidelines.
It also doesn't help that Samsung's pricing in China has been a tad out of sorts, with locals preferring high-value offerings from Xiaomi and Honor. And even when premium devices are wanted, iPhones are the flagships of choice, with Huawei a second best.
The South Korean company hopes to remedy that with the S10 phones, and has now made the flagships more affordable by way of trade-ins that top out at US$450. Considering how trade-in values in the US top out at US$550, this also shows how the company is, once again, neglecting that market. Of course, devices prices are also relative.