Samsung drops Galaxy Core 2 price to take on Android One smartphones

Looks like Samsung is feeling the heat from newly launched Android One smartphones. The Korean manufacturer on Wednesday rolled-out a price-cut for its Galaxy Core 2 smartphone in the Indian market. The company will now be selling the Core 2 at INR 7,990, down from the launch price of INR 11,990, revealed Mumbai-based retailer Mahesh Telecom.  The price-cut has already started appearing at the e-retailers like Flipkart as well as Samsung’s own e-store.This is a huge reduction for a smartphone that has gone on the sale in country just two months ago. With Google’s marketing muscle behind Android One smartphones in India, Samsung really has a reason to fear. For long the company has operated without much competition in the budget segment but that has changed this year. The entry of the likes of Moto E, Asus Zenfone 4 and Xiaomi Redmi 1S have changed the dynamics but these weren’t a real threat to Samsung, as all these phones were online-exclusive and depended mostly on word-of-mouth publicity except Moto E, which is advertised a bit but nowhere near the level of Samsung smartphones. Android One smartphones, however, will also be available in physical stores beginning next month. Broader availability, aggressive marketing, and a great pricing as well as specifications are more than enough to shake Samsung, resulting in today’s decision.To remind you, Samsung Galaxy Core 2 is an entry-level smartphone and comes with 4.5-inch WVGA display, 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 768MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage and microSD card slot. The phone also comes with 5MP rear camera, VGA front camera, 2000 mAh battery and Android 4.4.
While the reduced pricing of the Core 2 might not be matching the Android One price-tag, thanks to the Samsung branding and distribution, the Core 2 now has a real chance to take the Google-backed initiative.