BANGALORE: With Google introducing its latest initiative the Android One operating system to India’s low-cost phone makers such as Micromax, Karbonn and Spice, the Samsung’s absence under this platform has posted a big threat to the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer. Additionally, this development also proves that the Korean Smartphone maker now has to enter into a price war at the bottom of the smartphone pyramid, reports Hindustan Times.

There was a big doubt whether Google would give the necessary quality of the user experience on low-priced Android smartphones, but with its Android One operating initiative, the company has posted a major threat to Samsung, which is already facing heat in the low and mid segment smartphone market, with manufacturers such as Xiaomi and Lenovo eating into the company’s market share.

Karan Thakkar, senior market analyst said, “These devices are not equipped with high-end specifications. This ultra low-cost segment may not sound a viable option to repeat buyers, but it works well on the targeted segment.”

Even though both Samsung and Google make little of Android One’s potential impact on their relationship, Sundar Pichai, who heads Google’s Android and Chrome units, said that the company will continue to work closely with Samsung on many more projects in the coming future.

Rajiv Mishra, vice-president, Samsung India, exclaimed that, “We manufacture our own hardware and we have an array of Android-based products across price points. Our relationship with Google continues to be strong.”

According to IDC, the Smartphone market in India grew by 84 percent during the April-June quarter of 2014. And among them Samsung held a 17 percent market share in India, while Micromax had 14 percent followed by Karbonn at 9 percent.

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