Samsung executive Raju Pullan says the company has started making its Galaxy Fold, Flip, and S23 smartphones in India, seeking to surpass Xiaomi in the market
Sankalp Phartiyal / Bloomberg :
Context & Ripple Effects
Samsung's move builds on infrastructure it laid down years ago: the Noida mega-factory it announced in 2018 with capacity for 120M units annually was built when its Indian output skewed toward budget devices. Since then the market flipped — Counterpoint data shows Xiaomi's bet on sub-$120 phones backfired, with that segment shrinking to 26% of the market in 2022 from 41% in 2020, handing Samsung the top spot (Counterpoint data on the sub-$120 segment).
Local production of the Fold, Flip, and S23 extends Samsung's lead into the premium tier Xiaomi barely plays in, while Xiaomi scrambles to respond with a shift to physical retail after years of e-commerce bets and plans to cut its range and push 5G models.
First-order effects
- Samsung can now sell domestically-made flagships in India, where local assembly matters for pricing and supply speed, putting direct pressure on Xiaomi's volume-driven position in its second-biggest market.
Second-order effects
- Xiaomi's ongoing retrenchment — fewer models, 5G focus, physical retail — hardens into a two-front fight against a Samsung that now owns both the top spot and the premium segment Apple also targets through its India retail push.
Third-order effects
- If premium foldables are assembled locally at scale, India shifts from being an export hub for cheap handsets to a full-stack production base for high-margin devices, entrenching manufacturers who invested early in capacity.
The trend: India is becoming a manufacturing base for flagship smartphones, not just budget ones, rewarding companies like Samsung that built local capacity early.