Infinix is set to introduce its first 5G smartphone in the country in January, Anish Kapoor – CEO – Infinix India, told India Today Tech in an exclusive conversation. Kapoor suggested that the first Infinix 5G phone can be priced under Rs 20,000 despite the current market challenges. Infinix is a growing smartphone brand but has limited its portfolio to just 4G devices in India. The smartphone maker has targeted the budget smartphone category so far and is now planning to provide more options for customers.

“We are launching the first 5G phone in India by the end of January. There are customers who are looking to buy a 5G phone when the technology hasn’t rolled out. We are looking to build a portfolio where customers can either get a 4G phone with top-notch specs or can opt for 5G. The cost of the latter is, of course, higher. Once the rollout happens, 5G devices will be more affordable,” Kapoor said.

While there has been an influx of 5G phones in India, most companies have been compromising on other features to prioritize connectivity that isn’t even available in the country. A side by side comparison of a 5G and 4G phone at the same price clearly shows that the latter offers better value. External factors like a global chip shortage and the increasing price of other components have also affected the smartphone industry.

“There are a lot of factors involved in deciding the price of a phone. It’s not just the component pricing, dollar has appreciated by 8 per cent in the last few months and that affects the overall pricing. Even then, we are aiming not to cross that Rs 20,000 price point,” Kapoor explained.

He added that the company will focus on more than one series and plans to launch five to six new phones in India in the first half of 2022 – at least one phone every month.

“We saw a great response to our budget series in 2021. Now, we are looking to establish the Note series and the objective is to provide customers with features that they haven’t seen at that price point. We will also emphasise on the Zero series. Overall, we plan to launch at least one smartphone every month and a total of five to six smartphones in the first half of 2022,” Kapoor said.

In an interview with India Today Tech in July, Kapoor briefly talked about the plans to launch a 55-inch smart TV in India. At the time, the company was planning to introduce this model in 2021 itself – a deadline it has missed. However, there are still plans to launch the premium TV within the first half of next year.

“We launched the smart TVs around the same time last year and the response has been great. We planned to launch the 55-inch TV this year but missed the timeline. We are still working on it and hopefully, you will see it in the first quarter or early second quarter of next year,” Kapoor said.

Apart from smartphones and smart TVs, the company will continue to focus on laptops – a category it has just entered. The company has recently launched the InBook X1 laptops in India and will bring more products in this category in 2022.