Sharjah24 – Reuters: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said it aims to win a bigger share of the smartphone market this year with more 5G-capable models, and pointed to a possible price rebound for its flagship memory chips as early as the first half.

The world's largest memory chip and smartphone maker forecast a recovery in global tech device demand on Thursday after reporting its best fourth-quarter profit in four years, although it cautioned about ongoing challenges from supply chain issues and COVID-19.

Next generation 5G smartphones are set to account for more than half of all smartphone sales in the market in 2022, Kim Sung-koo, Vice President of mobile business, told an investor briefing.

"Our strategy in the mass tier is to actively capture demand from people seeking to replace their phones with 5G models," Kim said, adding that the company would pursue more "global mega-hit models."

Analysts said this would pit Samsung, which has around 20% of the global smartphone market, against low-cost Chinese smartphone rivals like Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo in markets outside China.