(Update: now available) Samsung Galaxy Note 5 dual-SIM variant launches in India

Update, January 18: The dual-SIM Galaxy Note 5 is available now for Rs. 51,400 .

Original post, January 16: The Galaxy Note 5, which has been rated as one of the best smartphones of 2015, has a dual-SIM variant that’s available in select markets. Indian smartphone enthusiasts would be delighted in learning that Samsung is bringing the Galaxy Note 5 dual-SIM variant to the their domestic market tomorrow. This will also be Samsung’s first new gadget launch in India in the year 2016.

Pricing details of the high-end phablet, which was originally released in August 2015, have already been revealed. The 32GB Note 5 dual-SIM will cost INR 51,400, or roughly $758. For those who require a bit more internal storage to carry around all their files, the 64GB variant will cost INR 57,400, or roughly $847.

To quickly recap, the Galaxy Note 5 features a 5.7-inch Quad HD (2560 x 1440 pixels) display of Super AMOLED make, an octa-core Exynos 7420 SoC comprising of Cortex A57 and Cortex A53 clusters. This is paired with an octa-core Mali-T760MP8 GPU, 4GB of RAM, and 32/64/128GB of internal storage. Samsung went with a 16MP rear camera with OIS, with the front-facing camera being a 5MP module. The Note 5 is 7.6mm thick, weighs 171g, comes with a 3000 mAh battery, and runs Android 5.1 Lollipop out-of-the-box. An upgrade to Android 6.0 Marshmallow is confirmed to be on its way. To learn more about the handset, check out our Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Review.

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Manu Sharma, who is the Director of Product-Marketing at Samsung India, said that “in the high-end segment, we saw a very strong trend of people using dual-SIMs in our A series smartphones,” from which they concluded that “consumers want a premium device, which has a local SIM and space for another SIM.” There’s a clear incentive for companies to try and capture the premium segment of the market, since with just 3% market share by volume, this segment commands 23% of the market share in terms of value.

Personally, I too have refrained from purchasing dual-SIM smartphones. There’s a story to it. Despite their obvious benefits such as more reliable connectivity wherever I go, taking advantage of different call rates and data pack rates, etc., I wanted a premium dual-SIM device and not an entry-level one. My peer group thought thinks the same way, so the entry of premium dual-SIM phones will be welcomed warmly by the Indian subcontinent.

Do you own a Galaxy Note 5? How has your experience with it been? Would you want to own a dual-SIM variant of this device? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!