Dubai: Samsung on Wednesday updated its mid-range Galaxy A series smartphones with water- and dust resistance-improved camera in a move to ward off competition from other Chinese players and tighten its grip on the segment.

The third-generation devices have the same metal design and features of its flagship model — the Galaxy S7 — but at a more affordable price point.

Samsung has been facing competition from Chinese players like Huawei, Oppo and Vivo in the mid-range segment globally.

As per IDC statistics, Samsung suffered a 13.5 per cent year-on-year decline in the third quarter shipments globally while third-ranked Huawei grew 23 per cent year-on-year, Oppo grew 121.6 per cent and Vivo grew by 102.5 per cent.

Tarek Sabbagh, head of IT and mobile division at Samsung Gulf Electronics, told Gulf News after the launch that 2016 was a good year for Samsung Gulf despite the Note 7 fiasco.

Quoting a research firm GfK report, he said that Samsung had a market share of 44 per cent market share in the smartphone space as of third quarter while the nearest competitor has 34 per cent market share.

In the $300 (Dh1,101) to $500 range (mid-range), he said that Samsung had a market share of 55 per cent while the nearest competitor is at 16 per cent.

“This is an indication that Samsung will continue innovation and customers are rewarding us. S7 sales have grown 1.6 times more than S6 sales till now,” he said.

The new phones run on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow version out of the box, but Sabbagh said that the devices will get an Android 7 Nougat update soon.

All the devices support Samsung Pay, a mobile payment service, but it is not yet available in the region. Samsung Pay works with standard credit card terminals and not just NFC terminals.

“As a technology, we are ready but the technology depends on banks, credit card providers and retailers. Development is almost done and will be launching soon in the region,” he said.

He sees a big potential for 2017. There is still many untapped opportunities in the market. There is still growth expected in the broadband segment.

New Models

Overall, the leading smartphone manufacturer launched three models: A7 (5.7-inch display), A5 (5.2-inch) and A3 (4.7-inch) on Wednesday.

The A5 and A7 models feature a premium design with a metal frame and glass back. They feature front and back 16MP cameras. They also have a longer battery life than their 2016 equivalents, with fast charging and a USB Type-C port.

The A7 and A5 sport 3GB RAM and 32GB of storage capacity and support up to 256GB microSD slot. The formats are powered by 1.9GHz octa-core processor. The A3 has 2GB RAM and 16GB of storage capacity and supports up to a 256GB microSD card slot. It is powered by 1.6GHz octa-core processor.

The A7 is priced at Dh1,749, A5 at Dh1,449, and A3 at Dh1,149, and will be available in Black Sky, Gold Sand and Blue Mist colours.