Thailand's branded-smartphone market has slowed to single-digit growth for the first time in four years due to unfavourable economic conditions and a saturated market, says Thai Samsung Electronics Co.
House-brand handsets have also eaten into branded smartphones' market share.
"Local smartphone sales are expected to grow in single digits to 18-20 million units this year," said Wichai Pornpratang, corporate vice-president for IT and mobile communications.
However, he said the arrival of fourth-generation (4G) wireless broadband service would help the market to rebound as consumers replaced their phones.
Thai consumers replace their mobiles every 18-24 months on average.
To capitalise on the coming 4G launch and strengthen its high-end smartphone leader, Samsung announced it was rolling out its new smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, next week, a month ahead of schedule.
The announcement was made ahead of its rival Apple, which is expected to launch its iPhone 6S on Sept 9.
The 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 5 model (32 GB) will be priced at 25,900 baht.
Mr Wichai said the wider-screen smartphone segment was expected to account for half of smartphone sales in Thailand this year, up from 44% in the first quarter.
Samsung plans to introduce its Galaxy S6 Edge Plus soon.
Mr Wichai admitted sales of Samsung's S6 and S6 Edge models were lower than expected.
To maintain its market leadership, Thai Samsung may introduce low–end 4G smartphones priced from 5,000 to 6,000 baht, down from 7,900 baht now, a source said.
Jarit Sindhu, a senior analyst at IDC (Thailand), predicts smartphone sales in Thailand will reach 22 million units, half of them house brands made by mobile operators.
Mobile operators are introducing aggressive marketing campaigns to persuade consumers to shift to their 3G and 4G mobile network services.
IDC expects Thailand's smartphone market including house brands will grow at a low single-digit rate next year due to market saturation.
One-third of the overall market next year will be made up of 4G-enabled handsets, up from 12% this year, Mr Jarit added.