Samsung will focus more on low-end smartphones after being thoroughly trounced by the likes of Apple at the high end of the market.
The South Korean mobile maker's third-quarter operating profit fell a massive 60.1 per cent to 4.1 trillion won (£2.4 billion). It's on course to record its worst annual operating profit in three years.
Mobile was the biggest loser. Profits for the mobile division fell 73.9 per cent, which is its worst performance since 2011. It didn't launch a flagship phone in the third quarter, and expects profits to pick up somewhat in the fourth quarter, thanks to the Galaxy Note 4, and the fact plenty of people will buy a new phone for Christmas.
As a result of these figures, Samsung will focus on more mid- to low-level smartphones.
"The mid-to-low end market is growing rapidly, and we plan to respond actively in order to capitalise on that growth," Samsung senior vice president Kim Hyun-joon said in a conference call with analysts.
We could even see new mid-level smarties before Christmas. Robert Yi, Samsung's head of investor relations, said the company would launch new mid-tier models in the fourth quarter, but didn't specify any model names or what features they would offer.
Samsung has come under attack recently from manufacturers specialising in cheaper handsets. Chinese company Xiaomi, for example, is now the world's third biggest smartphone maker.
Samsung is still first. If it wants to protect its number one spot, it will have to sacrifice profits.
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Via: Reuters