Get ready for high-end mobile phones

Come early next year, gadget lovers will once again be able to buy flagship models from Samsung, Xiaomi and iPhone through authorized distributors. Nepalese consumers were deprived of high-end mobile phones after the government imposed import restrictions in April this year.

With the government lifting restrictions on the import of smartphones costing more than $300, authorized distributors of Samsung, Xiaomi and iPhone have begun the process of importing high-end phones.

After the import restrictions were imposed, imports of the flagship models were halted for eight months. While the government placed a ban on the import of cell phones above $300, the flagship models of Samsung, Xiaomi and iPhone continued to enter the country through the gray market.

Now, authorized distributors say that the flagship models will be on the market by the end of January or early February. According to Pranaya Ratna Stapit, director at Samsung Nepal, Samsung’s two flagship series phones – Galaxy Fold 4 and Galaxy S22 will be launched to the market by mid-January 2023.

While the S22 series was launched in the Nepali market early this year, its import was stopped following the import restrictions. The S22 series is Samsung’s current flagship model.

According to Sanjay Agrawal, Executive Director at Ramesh Corp (Mobile and Consumer Durables), the latest flagship phone from Xiaomi stable will hit the market by February. “The new flagship model, Xiaomi-13 will be launched in early February,” said Agrawal whose company Teledirect Pvt Ltd is the official distributor of Xiaomi and Redmi phones in Nepal, “Note 12 and 13 series of Redmi will also be launched become.”

While Apple announced the new iPhones on September 7, the iPhone 14 series – the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max – will be officially available in the Nepalese market from January.

Imports of mobile phones took a big hit in the first four months of the current financial year due to import restrictions. With the government imposing import restrictions on mobile phones above $300, mobile phone imports declined by a whopping 50.36 percent in the first four months of FY 2022/23.

According to the customs department, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 10.10 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal. Such imports stood at Rs 20.35 billion during the same period of the last financial year (FY 2021/22).

In terms of quantity, mobile phone imports declined by 71.96 percent this year. Nepal imported 729,395 units of mobile phones in the current fiscal compared to 2.60 million units in the first four months of the last fiscal year.

Flagship phones to hit the market

From Samsung

Fold 4

S22 series

From Xiaomi

Xiaomi 13

From Apple

iPhone 14 pro

iPhone 14 pro max