According to Digitimes, Xiaomi’s expansion into the South Korean smartphone market is “heaping pressure” on Samsung.
The company recently launched its Redmi Note 5 handset in the region, priced at KRW 299,000 (about $265). With South Korea’s smartphone ASP being over $500, Xiaomi is in a good position to steal share from market leader Samsung’s 55%. Digitimes’ sources have revealed that initial consumer feedback for the device in South Korea is positive.
This won’t be the first time that Samsung has been beaten to the punch by Xiaomi — the company has already overtaken Samsung in the Indian smartphone market. Xiaomi is also planning to launch a retail store in South Korea, Digitimes also said.
The Redmi Note 5 includes a 5.99″ screen with a 1080 × 2160 resolution, 403 pixels per inch, an 18:9 aspect ratio and a 77.4% screen-to-body ratio. It runs Android 7.1.2, powered by a Snapdragon 625 chipset, up to 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. A micro SD card slot provides the means of adding additional storage of up to 128GB.
Its camera set-up includes a 12MP rear camera and a 5MP internal camera, capable of shooting video in up to 2160p30. It also incorporates a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor.
