By Choi Sung-jin
Samsung Electronics is considering discontinuing its unprofitable digital camera business and will instead focus on the mobile payment system of Samsung Pay, industry sources said Friday.
Samsung has not introduced a new camera model since it put the NX500 on the market in February and has stopped advertising its products. It also has suspended sales and marketing efforts in overseas markets, including Britain and Germany, the sources said.
"Demand for digital cameras and camcorders has declined in these markets, forcing us to withdraw from them," said a Samsung official.
Samsung reportedly plans to hand over its camera business to Nikon, supplying its image sensors, the core chips for digital cameras, to the Japanese camera maker. Nikon will likely replace the existing sensors supplied by Sony with the Samsung chips, enhancing their camera's video-filming functions, the sources said.
Other watchers said, however, it would be difficult for Samsung to break away from its camera business completely, as the sector is closely related with medical equipment in which Samsung wants to specialize.
Instead, the world's largest smartphone maker is moving to expand its mobile payment services, by expanding its applications, which have been limited to the latest Galaxy S6 and Galaxy Note 6 models, to lower-priced phones. Samsung's new Galaxy A and Galaxy A5 phones, for example, are equipped with electronic fingerprint readers and magnetic security transmitters, essential for the mobile payment system.
The company plans to introduce these models priced at about 400,000 won ($345) in the Chinese market this month, and in the Korean market next year.
Samsung Electronics is considering discontinuing its unprofitable digital camera business and will instead focus on the mobile payment system of Samsung Pay, industry sources said Friday.
Samsung has not introduced a new camera model since it put the NX500 on the market in February and has stopped advertising its products. It also has suspended sales and marketing efforts in overseas markets, including Britain and Germany, the sources said.
"Demand for digital cameras and camcorders has declined in these markets, forcing us to withdraw from them," said a Samsung official.
Samsung reportedly plans to hand over its camera business to Nikon, supplying its image sensors, the core chips for digital cameras, to the Japanese camera maker. Nikon will likely replace the existing sensors supplied by Sony with the Samsung chips, enhancing their camera's video-filming functions, the sources said.
Other watchers said, however, it would be difficult for Samsung to break away from its camera business completely, as the sector is closely related with medical equipment in which Samsung wants to specialize.
Instead, the world's largest smartphone maker is moving to expand its mobile payment services, by expanding its applications, which have been limited to the latest Galaxy S6 and Galaxy Note 6 models, to lower-priced phones. Samsung's new Galaxy A and Galaxy A5 phones, for example, are equipped with electronic fingerprint readers and magnetic security transmitters, essential for the mobile payment system.
The company plans to introduce these models priced at about 400,000 won ($345) in the Chinese market this month, and in the Korean market next year.
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