Samsung to launch Galaxy A42 5G smartphone in S. Korea this week

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it will release a new 5G budget smartphone in South Korea this week to expand its dominant status on home turf.

Samsung said the Galaxy A42 5G smartphone will be launched here Friday with a price tag of 449,900 won (US$400), the cheapest among 5G smartphone models sold in South Korea.

The A42 5G was already released in select markets in Europe and Southeast Asia last year.

The latest smartphone, equipped with a 6.6-inch display, comes with a rear quad-camera setup offering a 48-megapixel (MP) main camera, 8MP ultra wide lens, 5MP depth sensor and 5MP macro camera. It also has a 20MP selfie camera on the front.

The handset, which packs a 5,000mAh battery, has 4-gigabyte (GB) RAM and 128GB internal storage, which can be expanded up to 1 terabyte via a micro SD card.

According to market researcher Counterpoint Research, Samsung was the dominant player in the South Korean smartphone market last year with a share of 65 percent, followed by Apple Inc. with 20 percent and LG Electronics Inc. with 13 percent.

Globally, Samsung hopes it can further expand its market share with affordable 5G smartphones as its Chinese rival Huawei Technologies Co. is struggling with U.S. sanctions.

Samsung defended its leading status in the 2020 global smartphone market, but its market share dropped from 20 percent to 19 percent as its shipments declined from 296.8 million units to 255.7 million units, Counterpoint Research data showed.

The South Korean tech giant is expected to release more 5G-supporting models in the Galaxy A series this year, which will include the A32, the A52 and the A72.