Mr. Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President and head of Samsung’s mobile business in the country, spoke to India Newsroom about Samsung India mobile division’s business performance, the Company’s ‘Make for India’ strategy, future plans and his 12-year long career, in an interview published earlier this month. In this second and final part of the interview, Mr. Warsi opens up about his passions and talks about what it takes for young men and women to succeed in a global company like Samsung.

Zeal to be No. 1

I have completed 12 business cycles in Samsung and each business cycle has been very different and very rewarding. If I have to choose one moment out of these 12 years, I think it would be the day when we became market leader in India. It was the day for which we had been planning and strenuously working. We had the ambition and vision from the times when we were actually a No. 4 brand with less than 3% market share in India. And it has been an incredible journey from there to have grown and actually establish ourselves as No.1. Since then, there has been no looking back. We have only gone from strength to strength. I do not have words to describe how satisfying and thrilling this journey has been.

What does it take to succeed at Companies like Samsung

We have many young people working at Samsung and these young minds really inspire us. Their brilliance, creativity, their point of view towards life and their outlook is refreshing and inspiring to us. At Samsung, we are always looking for the youngest, the brightest minds out there to be part of our journey and build their careers with us. My message to these young millennials, who aspire to work with Samsung, is if you have passion, speed, the quest for change and innovation, if these are the qualities that drive you, then Samsung is the place to be. This is what we really at our core are – passion, speed and innovation.

Follow Your Passions (besides Samsung of course!)

I am a very avid horse rider. I enjoy riding over the weekends when I can. I am also a national-level shooter in two different disciplines. I am able to take out time when I can, over holidays or weekends. Sometimes, to be able to go and be one with nature, one with horses, ride out, do some hacks or play some light polo, not just that shooting as well. It completely re-energises me and reboots me to take on the Monday and the week ahead very effectively.

From riding horses, to spending weekends on the shooting range to selling the world’s best smartphones, here’s Mr Asim Warsi for you

Mr. Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President with Samsung India, is the head of Samsung’s mobile business in the country. India Newsroom team caught up with Mr. Warsi to talk about his 12-year-long career at Samsung India through which he has worn different hats.

Here are the edited excerpts of the interview with Mr. Warsi.

Experience at Samsung

The last twelve years and counting at Samsung have been personally as well as professionally the best twelve years. It’s been rewarding and thrilling to work at Samsung. The whole spirit and culture with which we worked, and achieved what we have, has been particularly important.

Performance in H1

The first half of 2017 has been a thriller for us because we were able to launch the world’s most popular Galaxy S8 & S8+ in India, which have received an overwhelming response from our consumers. They have come to love the all-new design and the next level of technology that comes packed in these devices. Not just that we have also been very, very pleased to launch the all new Samsung Pay service. We have also announced and launched models like the Galaxy C9 & C7 as well as the recently announced Galaxy J7 Max & J7 Pro.  All of these have ensured that consumers at various ends of the segments have been able to get something for themselves.

Samsung’s ‘Make for India’ philosophy

‘Make for India’ continues to drive Samsung. Every single phone that we launch in India or every single service or feature that we launch in India, the ethos is to make it relevant for the Indian consumer and the Indian environment and the Indian use case. We created and launched the all new Samsung J Series over two years ago, which gave consumers in India a very different 4G experience. The Samsung Pay we launched in India integrates many local services, which are really a first for Samsung Pay globally.

Gearing up for H2

The best half of the year is lying ahead of us. It’s the period of festivities and cheer across the country, and in our own ways, we are going to herald it with some great new announcements and great new launches at all ends of the market spectrum and the portfolio that we straddle.  We are also hugely investing in consumer experience and after-sales service. We will ensure that in the second half, whether by way of products and launches or the services that we bring forth, the post purchase experience will be richer for our consumers.

To read the final part of the Interview, Click here – ‘At Samsung, Young Minds Inspire Us’

Samsung India today launched a new variant of Galaxy S8+ with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage, following the tremendous response to its recently-launched flagship smartphones Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.

The new variant, which will be available in Midnight Black colour, retains its flagship style – with a stunning bezel-less dual-edge Infinity Display that provides a truly cinematic viewing experience. The new Galaxy S8+ also comes with Samsung Pay – the mobile payment service with defense-grade security, the best low-light camera and personal assistant, Bixby.

The new Galaxy S8+ builds on Samsung’s heritage of creating stunning designs and meaningful innovations that transform people’s lives. Following the success of the flagship smartphones and great response from Indian market for Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, Samsung is launching the newer variant with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage.

“The resounding success of the recently launched Galaxy S8 & Galaxy S8+ underscores the unmatched superiority of Samsung in the premium smartphone segment. The new Galaxy S8+ variant with its best in class 6GB RAM & 128GB internal memory, will give our consumers the freedom to do infinitely more. It is the ultimate device for power users who aspire to explore new possibilities, are always on top of their game and for whom multi-tasking is a way of life,” said Mr. Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India.

An efficient device and a definite showstopper in terms of looks, the new Galaxy S8+ is the best choice for consumers looking for a seamless experience even while using dual SIM.

Galaxy with Infinite Possibilities

The new Galaxy S8+ packs in enhanced performance and features:

• Infinite Performance: The new Galaxy S8+ is powered with 6GB RAM. This makes the device infinitely powerful and allows multitasking with immaculate efficiency. With increased memory, you can have a seamless experience when playing graphically intensive games.

• Infinite Entertainment: As the world’s first mobile device certified by the UHD Alliance as MOBILE HDR PREMIUMTM, the new Galaxy S8+ lets you see the same vibrant colours and contrasts that filmmakers intended while watching your favourite shows. It also offers next-level gaming experience with vivid and superior graphic technology, as well as Game Pack, featuring top game titles, including select titles supported by the Vulkan API.

• Infinite Camera: The new Galaxy S8+ is equipped with 12MP rear camera with Dual Pixel Technology and 8MP front camera with smart autofocus, with F1.7 aperture that is perfect for taking bright and high-resolution photos even in low light conditions. With this enhanced variant, consumers will not have to worry about running out of space while clicking pictures and storing memories on their phones.

• Infinite Convenience: The new Galaxy S8+ with 128GB storage makes your experiences unforgettable, flawless and smooth. It will, in particular, serve best to customers who use dual SIM and require large memory.

Availability

The Samsung Galaxy S8+ 128GB, with its sleek and premium design, is available in Midnight Black colour. Consumers can pre-book the new Galaxy S8+ on Samsung Shop and Flipkart starting from June 2. As an introductory offer, all the customers will also be eligible for a free Wireless Charger.

The Samsung Galaxy S8+ 128GB will be priced at INR 74,900 and will be available across India from June 9.

Tizen-based Z4 was launched in India last week

Samsung launched Z4, the Tizen-powered 4G smartphone globally last week. Significantly, India was the first to get the phone, and rightly so! With over 500 million feature phone users, the Z4 is the perfect stepping stone for Indian consumers looking to shift to a smartphone.

Since the launch of the maiden Tizen smartphone, Z1, in 2015, several millions of Tizen phones have sold, with consumers, especially first time smartphone buyers, giving it’s easy to use interface a thumbs up.

The Z4, which comes with ‘Double’ benefits as far as camera, flash and style go, is expected to drive up Tizen adoption in the country.

India Newsroom team spoke to Mr. Dipesh Shah, who as the Managing Director of Samsung R&D Bangalore, oversees much of the cutting-edge work involving Tizen.

Mr. Dipesh Shah is the Managing Director of Samsung R&D Bangalore

“India is unique because even today about 50% of new phones sold in the market are feature phones. Compare that to China which has gone past features phones three years ago,” said Mr. Shah.

Tizen is rightly positioned for the first-time smartphone users as its platform is very light and very fast.

“As the market leader, we at Samsung consider it our priority to facilitate this journey towards smartphones. Our affordable Tizen series has been instrumental in catalyzing the smartphone upgrade,” Mr. Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President, Samsung India Electronics, said.

Today, India is one of the primary markets for Tizen, with shipments also going to consumers in other markets.

Samsung Z4 is debuting in India on May 19, making the country the first market where the Tizen-powered smartphone goes on sale. The 4G smartphone combines performance and essential features with a simple user experience, making it the perfect device for first-time smartphone users.

“With more than 500 million feature phone users, India has immense potential for smartphone upgrade. As the market leader, we at Samsung consider it our priority to facilitate this journey towards smartphones. Our affordable Tizen series has been instrumental in catalyzing the smartphone upgrade and with Z4, we will offer yet another compelling product to affordable segment consumers,” Mr. Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President, Samsung India Electronics, said.

Double Camera, Double Style

Samsung Z4 comes with ‘double’ the usual benefits in terms of camera, flash and style. It sports a 5MP front flash camera for selfies in all-light conditions. The dual LED flash on the 5 MP rear camera clicks brighter images even in low light conditions. Users get editing options within the camera view finder and features like beauty mode, live filters and profile template ensure social media-ready enhanced images.

Samsung Z4’s 4.5” screen allows consumers to enjoy games, videos and other multimedia content to the fullest. The 2.5D glass gives the front display a refreshed look and comfortable grip. To maximize the style quotient, an additional black back cover is provided inbox for all users to enjoy both gold and black styles on the same device.

The user interface on Samsung Z4 is simple, easy to use and optimized for seamless performance. The smartphone comes with a 1.5 quad core processor, 1 GB RAM and 8 GB internal memory, which is further expandable up to 128 GB. It is fuelled by a 2050 mAh long-lasting battery.

‘Make for India’ Features

Samsung Z4 comes with Tizen OS, which gives clutter free and effortless mobile experience to users. The smartphone also comes with ‘Make for India’ features that provide localized solutions for Indian consumers.

The S bike mode lets consumers ride tension free, while encouraging responsible riding. Samsung’s unique ‘Ultra Power Saving mode’ keeps the phone operational even at minimal battery levels. The ‘My Money Transfer’ feature lets users do offline banking on most popular banks of India.

Samsung Z4 gives users the option to access latest news in their preferred local language with just a swipe on their home screen. The calendar on Z4 can be automatically synced with future events to give users reminder notifications and seamless access to event updates from the calendar itself.

Price

Samsung Z4 will be available for INR 5,790, starting May 19th in mobile stores across India. Besides the gold back cover on the device, all users will get an additional back cover inbox.

Mr. HC Hong, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia with Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog

Samsung Pay, Samsung Electronics’ flagship mobile payments service, made its debut in India today. The first commercial transaction of Samsung Pay in India was carried out in the presence of NITI Aayog CEO Mr. Amitabh Kant and Samsung Southwest Asia President and CEO Mr. HC Hong in front of a capacity audience that included key banking and card networks executives.

Samsung Pay is ‘Simple, Secure and Almost Everywhere’, making it a revolutionary payments system. Apart from allowing users in India to simply tap and ‘pay on the go’ using their registered cards, Samsung Pay has integrated digital wallet Paytm as well as the government’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) into its app. The integration of Samsung Pay with local payments solutions is in line with Samsung’s ‘Make for India’ commitment.

Mr. HC Hong, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, said, “Samsung Pay is an example of how we continue to push the boundaries of innovations to make life simpler and better for consumers. I am confident Samsung Pay will redefine digital payments and contribute to Digital India.”

Payments through Samsung Pay can be accepted at all places where a physical card will work. To launch Samsung Pay, a user will just have to swipe up on a compatible phone, select the card, authenticate using a fingerprint or PIN and bring the phone close to the PoS terminal.

Samsung Pay works with Samsung’s patented Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) technology as well as with Near Field Communication (NFC). Since a majority of PoS terminals in India are MST enabled, they will work seamlessly with Samsung Pay.

Since its launch in July 2015, Samsung Pay has rapidly expanded its service by supporting additional value-added features in multiple markets worldwide. With its launch in India, Samsung Pay is fully available in 12 global markets, including South Korea, the US, China, Spain, Singapore, Australia, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Russia, Thailand and Malaysia.

Mr. Thomas Ko, Vice President and Global Manager, Samsung Pay said, “When we launched Samsung Pay, our goal was to enable consumers across the globe to make payments that are simple, secure and accepted almost everywhere. Over the past year and a half, this vision has evolved into building a complete digital wallet solution, allowing customers worldwide to not only make payments but also use membership and transit cards, receive deals and rewards and more.”

Samsung Pay has created a unique digital payment ecosystem by partnering with a number of banks and payment gateways. Partners include Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI Cards and Standard Chartered Bank. Citibank India is a forthcoming issuer and its credit cards will be live on Samsung Pay shortly.

“Our insights show that convenience, security and acceptance are seen by consumers as the most important influencers when choosing among different digital payment options,” said Mr. Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India. “With Samsung Pay, we give our consumers the smartest way to make digital transactions by far.”

Samsung Pay is currently available on Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S7, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy A5 (2016), Galaxy A7 (2016), Galaxy A5 (2017) and Galaxy A7 (2017).

Samsung Pay will also be available on the Samsung Gear S3 Smartwatch shortly, allowing users to pay with just the movement of their hand.

Samsung India today launched the 5.7-inch Galaxy A7 and the 5.2-inch Galaxy A5 smartphones. The Galaxy A (2017) comes with Samsung’s modern and innovative design and technology, giving consumers ultimate convenience to express their individuality with powerful performance.

Both the Galaxy A7 and Galaxy A5 come with curved glass and metal body, creating a harmonious premium design. The new dual-SIM Galaxy A series also offers water and dust resistance, enhanced camera features and fingerprint scanner.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President, Samsung India said, “At Samsung, we are always committed to innovate as per the need of our consumers to ensure that they have the most advanced and modern products in the market today.”

Mr. Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President, Samsung India

“The latest Galaxy A (2017) series is a testament to our commitment. We have integrated our consumers’ feedback on previous models along with our unique design approach and features, to give an added performance and premium experience to the users.”

The Galaxy A features a premium aluminium frame and 3D curved glass back. With zero camera protrusion and sleek design that fuses the camera and home key perfectly with the body, the device is more seamless & ergonomic than ever before.

The Galaxy A sports the enhanced 16-megapixel camera on the front as well as the rear, helping users capture amazing memories by taking vibrant and clear photos. The Galaxy A has the F1.9 lens, which coupled with Light+ technology and screen flash, allows users to take bright pictures/selfies in low-light conditions.

The camera features innovative floating shutter button, which can be moved anywhere on the screen for taking high resolution, blur free selfies. The Galaxy A’s simple UI makes it easier to control the camera by one hand, whether to swipe the screen or to change modes and instant filters to activate picture effects. Users can also leverage different modes to optimize photos and enhance the color of images.

Another first for the Galaxy A 2017 edition is water and dust resistance (IP68), which changes the way people use the phone daily. These features help the devices withstand rain, sweat, sand and dust.

The Galaxy A 2017 also offers larger memory and battery capacity, with expandable storage support up to 256GB to keep up with users’ hyperactive lifestyles. The Samsung Galaxy A7 and Samsung Galaxy A5 also support fast charging that enables the devices to charge quickly.

For easy connectivity and hassle-free charging, the Galaxy A is equipped with reversible USB Type-C port. It also features Always-on Display so users can quickly check time, calendar and notifications without waking up the device. This helps in saving time and battery.

The Galaxy A 2017 is available in two stylish colors – Black Sky and Gold Sand. Samsung Galaxy A7 and Samsung Galaxy A5 will be available to customers at a price of INR 33,490 and INR 28,990, respectively.

Samsung Galaxy A7 Product Specifications:

 Samsung Galaxy A5 Product Specifications:

* All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.

Samsung India has announced a new offer as part of Valentine’s Day celebrations. The limited period offer, called ‘Bundle of Love’, will be available only on Samsung Shop, the official online shopping destination of Samsung India.

Valentine’s Day, held on February 14 every year, is popular in many parts of the world, including India.

Under Samsung India’s ‘Bundle of Love’ offer, consumers can get attractive deals on Samsung’s best-selling smartphones and wearables. Products under Samsung’s ‘Bundle of Love’ offer are available for a limited period and redeemable purely on first come, first serve basis.

“We are happy to spread the joy of gifting with special deals on some of our bestselling Samsung products. We have recently revamped the Samsung eStore with richer content and a wider portfolio of Samsung products. Rechristened ‘Samsung Shop’ with better features and functions and great offers like the one for Valentine’s Day, we hope to continuously get close to our customers by providing superior experience at every touch point,” said Mr. Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President, Samsung India.

Samsung Shop offers a wide portfolio of Samsung products such as Smartphones, Televisions, Home Appliances, Memory and IT products. Customers get access to detailed product information and avail pan-India delivery facility on Samsung Shop.

A sneak peek at the ‘Samsung Shop’:

With an objective to help customers find the best products that fits their requirement, Samsung India introduced many innovative customer-centric services and re-launched its eStore.

Samsung Live Chat to help customers make buying decisions or generally enquire about Samsung products

Delight delivery for delivery by appointment from the nearest Samsung Plaza within 24 hours of ordering online, including free delivery

All-year attractive financing offers available with a variety of payment options including Credit/Debit card, Netbanking & COD

A special offers section for corporate employees for exclusive deals on Samsung products 365 days of the year.

Samsung India on Thursday launched its new My Galaxy application for users of Samsung Galaxy mobile devices before a select audience in Kolkata and Lucknow.

The flagship application from Samsung India is an all-in-one product that brings entertainment, services and Samsung Care on one platform for users.  The new My Galaxy application’s intuitive one-page design not only ensures seamless video, music and gaming experience, but also gives quick access to lifestyle services to users.

The new My Galaxy application’s entertainment hub packs in 42,000+ hours of video content. To top it up, it comes with a free three-month premium subscription for Samsung My Galaxy members.

The music section has a catalogue of more than two million songs, offering three unique features – Galaxy Mocha, Galaxy DJ and Galaxy Mix.

Galaxy Mocha allows users to set their alarm to their favorite song every day. Galaxy DJ enables users to create a playlist as per their mood, while Galaxy Mix offers a specially curated playlist of popular songs for My Galaxy members.

The new My Galaxy application’s gaming hub opens up collaborative functionalities for gamers, enabling them to not only record videos, stream their gameplay and watch others play, but also join and discover new gaming communities.

The new My Galaxy application also integrates key lifestyle services such as recharges, bill payments, movie ticketing, cab booking, flight & hotel bookings, live chat, hyperlocal deals and much more, all within one application.

“At Samsung, we continuously strive to create value for our customers by providing differentiated solutions and services coupled with innovative devices. The new My Galaxy has been developed keeping in mind the Indian consumers and their smart phone usage habits. It is a testimony to our passion for innovation and localization,” Mr. Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President, Samsung India Electronics, said.

Asim Warsi unveiled Samsung My Galaxy App in Lucknow

The new My Galaxy application incorporates significant enhancements over its predecessor, which saw over 10 million downloads on Google Play Store.

The new My Galaxy application was developed by Indian research and development team at Samsung R&D Institute (SRI) at Bangalore. SRI Bangalore is Samsung Electronics’ largest overseas R&D Centre.

Mr. Dipesh Shah, Managing Director, Samsung Research India, Bangalore, said, “The application has been designed to deliver a simple and seamless experience to consumers by a team of our user experience designers, tech experts and great collaboration from our partners. We strongly believe that it would help de-clutter the device, by bringing everything that consumers use their smartphones for, at one place with ease and convenience.”

Users can now do away with multiple applications, which will help them reduce memory constraints on their devices.

Over the next few days, the new My Galaxy application will be unveiled before audiences in Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad too. The new My Galaxy application is available for free via an update on all Samsung Galaxy smartphones in India with android versions which are Jellybean and above. The application can also be downloaded from Google Play Store.