[ET NEWS] Samsung Electronics is revamping its budget phone lineup, ditching the cheaper J brand, according to industry sources on Sept. 18.

“Samsung is considering combining J and A brands to further strengthen the A series whose brand awareness has greatly improved in recent years,” a source told ET News on condition of anonymity. 

Galaxy A

The A series is Samsung’s mid-tier brand that features some high-end functions of the flagship S series or Note despite its cheaper price tag. The J brand is cheaper than the A series but it is still positioned between the low- and mid-tier phones in the market overall.

“The A series has built a premium image as it adopts high-end features like a front-facing dual-lens camera earlier than its S or Note siblings,” another source said. “Samsung is beefing up its budget phone lineup centering on the A series.”

Sources say Samsung also plans to launch a brand-new M brand possibly replacing the current ON series that has been sold mostly in India and China. The phones are sold in Korea through some online retailers as well. The cheapest Samsung phone is expected to use more China-made parts to lower the price.

“With the M brand, Samsung is expected to renew its competition with Chinese handset makers in emerging markets like India, Latin America and Southeast Asia,” the source added.

As part of its latest push for no-frills phones, Samsung in June appointed Park Gil-jae, former head of global production and technology at its Gumi smartphone plant, as chief of its global hardware development team who oversees the firm’s budget phone development and business at the Suwon headquarters.

By Yoon Kun-il (benyun@etnews.com)
This story was co-produced by ET News and The Investor. For any inquiries, contact editor Lee Ji-yoon at jylee@heraldcorp.com