Samsung Electronics Co. is on its way to recover the peak in the Indian smartphone market as its spec-rich budget policy worked out in the world’s second most populated country.

The Korean tech giant reportedly has sold more than 5 million units of Galaxy A smartphone series in just 70 days since its launch in India and raked in an estimated $1 billion in sales, according to local media reports. There are total six Galaxy A models, ranging from A10 to A80, sold in India, and local pricing ranges from $75.11 to $411.59.

In March, Samsung Electronics released its new budget phone line Galaxy A series after losing its top position in the market to Xiomi. According to market researcher Strategy Analytics, Xiomi held the largest 30.1 percent share in the Indian smartphone market in the first quarter, widening its gap with Samsung Electronics with a 22.7 percent share. The Korean smartphone giant lost ground to the Chinese rival last year for the first time.

The new Galaxy A series consists of former mid-range line Galaxy A series and low-end line Galaxy J series phones. Samsung Electronics also introduced the Galaxy M series in India for the first time in the world to ward off threatening Chinese competition earlier this year.

Global smartphone makers have been in a cutthroat competition to win India due to its immense growth potential amid broad stagnancy in the global smartphone market. Xiomi along with its Chinese peers Huawei and OPPO moved onto India after they have seized their home ground and defeated Samsung by a landslide. Samsung now commands around pitiful 1 percent in China.

The Korean maker already won back the No. 1 spot in the high-end segment in India in the January-March period with its new premium flagship smartphone Galaxy S10 series, according to Counterpoint Technology Market Research report. It brought down China’s OnePlus that stole the lead three quarters ago from it. Samsung Electronics’ share in the Indian premium mobile phone market in the first quarter was 44 percent, followed by OnePlus with 26 percent and Apple with 19 percent.

By Kim Gyu-sik and Cho Jeehyun

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