Last September, Vietnam’s VinSmart tried to steal ZTE’s thunder when it announced its own smartphone with an under-display camera. Now, the phone which launched as the Vsmart Aris Pro won’t be getting a successor as Vingroup, the parent company, has announced it is shutting down VinSmart’s smartphone and TV division and will instead be focusing on electric vehicles.

The announcement has come as a big surprise considering VinSmart is a pretty new player in the smartphone market. It was established in June 2018, and back in December 2020, it announced it will begin shipping its smartphones to other regions including Europe, India, and the US.

Bloomberg reports that an official statement released by the company on Sunday said the closure of VinSmart is to “mobilize all resources” for the development of VinFast, its carmaking division. It added that it “is a strategic step towards the aim of making VinFast one of the world’s leading firms in electric and smart vehicles”.

The manufacturer stated that it will uphold the warranty of sold devices and continue to offer after-sales services to owners of its smartphones and smart TVs for as long as they are in use. It added that the software department will continue to work on releasing updates for existing devices.

Vinsmart will now pivot to making smart solutions for vehicles and developing infotainment for VinFast, Vingroup’s automobile company established in 2017. It has also been reported that it will continue its research on IoT devices, smart homes, and smart cities.

VinFast which has been offering cars powered by BMW-licensed engines plans to get listed in the United States at a valuation of up to $60 billion. It is also considering a public offering that is expected to raise $2 billion.

It plans to sell its electric SUVs in North America and Europe starting next year with a battery leasing program. The cars will be cheaper because the cost of the battery will not be included in the total price. However, buyers will likely pay a monthly fee that is said to be equal to the average cost of fueling a car per month. The battery will then be replaced after reaching 70% of its lifespan.

Do you think VinFast be able to take on Tesla, Toyota, General Motors, and Volkswagen?

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VinSmart, the Vietnamese smartphone brand, is planning on launching its self developed smartphones in foreign markets. The company recently launched three new smartphone models in its home country’s market in the second half of 2020 and is apparently planning on expanding its horizons overseas.

According to TheElec report, VinSmart is apparently looking into launching smartphones in markets like North America, India, or other markets where Chinese smartphone brands have a lower market share or are facing obstacles due to the ‘geopolitical tension’. For those unaware, VinSmart is a relatively new brand, with its operations only beginning in 2018. At the start, it used Chinese manufacturers for its smartphones design, and only assembled a few of its products by itself.

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Now, it has begun marking its own smartphones and has even expanded its development team, which includes past employees of industry giant’s like Samsung and LG. In the third quarter of this year, the company launched the Live 4 (code named V640 during development). It was priced around 177 US Dollars and targeted the entry level market. Since then, it has launched other models, which also target the budget level market. The company aimed on shipping a million units of all three models combined, but this target is unlikely considering it faced delays in production and launch due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

At the moment, its factory is located in Hanoi, Vietnam, and is capable of producing up to 26 million smartphones every year at full capacity. Although, once the site is completed, its production capacity will be able to reach up to 125 million units per year. Notably, the company’s plans on expanding outside of Vietnam will have its South Korean suppliers like Cammsys and Ryuk-Il C&S benefit. The former supplies its camera modules and fingerprint scanner, while the latter supplies the rear cover of its devices.

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VinSmart is focusing on the US and plans to bring more flagships to the country in 2021. As reported by XDA, Nguyen Thi Hong, General Director of VinSmart’s Mobile division, says the company will bring prestigious products. And it is going to do so by partnering with IPs(Internet Providers) and launching devices through distribution channels.

VinSmart, a subsidiary of Vingroup, also says(via XDA) that it has partnerships with Qualcomm, MediaTek and is planning to commercialize 5G devices in the USA which is now a hotspot apart from China. Additionally, it will bring 5G to its home country ‘Việt Nam’ after the official rollout. It’s worth noting that the company also focuses on 4G with devices like Vsmart Bee Lite that recently launched for just VND 600,000($26).

Besides, the report says VinSmart will likely bring flagships like the Vsmart Aris and Vsmart Aris Pro to the US. If we recall, the company announced the Vsmart Aris Pro with a CUD(Camera Under Screen) back in September. In fact, the company has already started connecting with the US by bagging a contract from an American Service provider.

Accordingly, it will manufacture two million unknown 4G devices for the U.S carrier. And it has already sent the first consignment in September. The company feels that it’s the first step towards understanding the market before bringing its own devices. For the unware, it has a manufacturing plant at Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park in Hanoi for Smartphones, IoT devices.

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Coming back, the company is probably thinking about Vsmart Axis Pro for the US due to the rave reception it got during launch. And according to Nguyen Minh Viet, Director of Mobile Device Research Institute (VinSmart), under-display cameras can capture only 15% of light through the screen. However, it has developed a technology called Vcam Kristal to overcome the issue.

Talking about CUD, Vsmart Aris Pro features a 6.39-inch FHD+ AMOLED display,20MP under-display camera, Snapdragon 730 SoC, 8GB RAM, and 128GB storage, quad-rear camera with 64MP primary lens, 4,000mAh battery. It launched at VND 9,990,000 (~$431). Anyway, let’s wish VinSmart good luck as it aims to place a strong foothold in one of the biggest economies in the world.

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