While Samsung sells dual-SIM variants of its entry-level and mid-range smartphones in India, the company has refrained itself from offering that feature in its high-end smartphones in the country. However, it looks like the South Korean smartphone giant has decided to launch the dual-SIM variant of the Galaxy Note 5 in India.
According to The Economic Times, Samsung revealed that the Galaxy Note 5 dual-SIM will be made available in India starting from January 17. The 32GB and 64GB storage variants of the device will be available for INR 51,400 (~ $769) and INR 57,400 (~ $859), respectively. The company experienced a strong demand for dual-SIM smartphones in the Galaxy A lineup, and decided to bring the feature to its high-end smartphones.
Manu Jain, Director of Product Marketing at Samsung India, told the publication: “In the high-end segment, we saw a very strong trend of people using dual-SIMs in our A series smartphones. Consumers want a premium device, which has a local SIM and space for another SIM. We will continue doing products that will address an opportunity and we will drive the dual-SIM market in the premium segment, starting with the Note 5.”
Samsung leads the high-end smartphone market in India with a market share of 48.1 percent, and the company wants to further solidify its position in the segment by launching dual-SIM variants of its high-end smartphones. The company might extend this feature to devices such as the Galaxy S6 edge and the Galaxy S6 edge Plus in the future.
The company already sells the dual-SIM variant of the Galaxy Note 5 in China, and most other flagships as well. It's possible the dual SIM Galaxy S7 will make a debut in India alongside the regular variant or even be the only variant made available in the country, especially if a particular rumor is correct and the S7 will have a large battery that should be able to cope with the demands of powering two mobile networks.
