Samsung Phones to Get a Lot More Affordable for Pakistanis

Samsung has made headlines across the country with its first “Made in Pakistan” smartphone, the Galaxy S21 FE. The Korean phone maker has been eyeing the local market for quite a while and the efforts have finally paid off. The Galaxy S21 FE is available here for Rs 138,500, which is quite close to Samsung’s official pricing for the international market at $700 (Rs. 126,568).

Yes, there is still a difference of about Rs 12,000, but this is much better than previous generation flagships, like the Galaxy S21. The vanilla S21 still costs around Rs 176,500 which is quite higher than the international launch price of $800 (Rs 144,649). Not to mention the international price has dropped quite recently, almost to $500 – $600, but the same cannot be said for Pakistan.

This price difference is much worse for iPhones in our country.

But, going forward, the price trend is expected to improve as local manufacturing continues to develop in Pakistan.

“Manufactured” in Pakistan

The word “manufacturing” can be misleading in this case. Despite the retail boxes saying “manufactured in Pakistan”, the phones are, in fact, only assembled here. Samsung does not have all its major factories or specialized facilities to produce all smartphone components in Pakistan. Specialized equipment is shipped from abroad and is simply assembled here in Pakistan. Credit goes to Lucky Motors Corporation, also known as Kia Lucky Motors Co.

Simple equipment can easily be manufactured here, but high-tech components will need more effort and development. It’s a slow process, but it is expected to bring down prices even further.

What about Quality?

The response for locally produced phones in Pakistan has been positive so far. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE and the Redmi 10 were incredibly well received with positive reviews everywhere. There have been no complaints regarding Infinix or Realme’s recent handsets either. A select few customers did not have the same experience, but that is unavoidable even with internationally produced phones.

We will be sure to share a detailed review of the Galaxy S21 FE once we receive a review unit. Make sure to enable notifications to stay up to date.

The Good News

But now that multiple major companies have kicked off local production, the future of smartphone pricing in Pakistan is looking bright. Xiaomi already produces the Redmi 10 and a few other devices in Pakistan. Oppo has been working on it too, and now Samsung, one of the biggest names in the industry, has stepped in as well.

This good news comes at a great time as well. The tax budget for Pakistan was revised recently, which significantly inflated import taxes on smartphones. Importing a handset costing $500 or above now costs a staggering Rs 57,000 in taxes (passport). Just imagine paying over Rs 147,406 for a phone that is supposed to cost about Rs 90,406.

Now the Pakistani Galaxy S21 FE costing only Rs 138,500 sounds very impressive, doesn’t it?

More Companies will Join

Attractive pricing is clearly going to attract more customers across the country. Seeing how successful local production can be, other companies will want to grab a slice as well.

Oppo is already producing phones in Pakistan and its sub-brand Realme has recently inaugurated its first assembly plant as well. Realme has a major presence in Pakistan for its budget phones and the brand will only grow more with better price tags.

Infinix also produces smartphones in Pakistan, which is why it has some of the best value for money phones, like the Infinix Zero series. Even Apple may set up a local production plant in Pakistan soon.

Already in touch with @Apple !

— Javed Afridi (@JAfridi10) March 11, 2022

More Customer Support

The local presence of smartphone companies will not only affect prices but bring in more customer support as well. As companies grow their local presence, they may even start to offer more benefits such as more official warranties and maybe even trade-in discounts and carrier discounts. Samsung and other companies offer these benefits in their major markets such as the US, Korea, etc.

Trade-in discounts and carrier benefits bring down the prices of smartphones significantly. To put it into perspective, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is as cheap as $350 (Rs. 63,284) with discounts on Samsung’s American website. But don’t place your bets just yet as this could take a long time before it becomes reality in Pakistan.