Skip to main content

Samsung’s new ‘Opera House’ store is its biggest in the world

Samsung has just opened its biggest “mobile experience store” worldwide to promote its smartphones, tablets, and other related tech equipment.

Recommended Videos

The new store is in the Indian city of Bengaluru — also known as Bangalore — a place that’s made a name for itself as the nation’s tech capital.

Samsung has renovated the city’s grand Opera House building, which was constructed during the British colonial era, to make the space its own.

Similar to the lavish Samsung 837 location that opened in New York City in 2016, Samsung Opera House isn’t a place for buying stuff. Instead, it’s about trying stuff and having experiences (though it would definitely like you to make a purchase at one of its many resellers or brand stores afterwards).

In Samsung’s own words, it wants to “bring together technology, lifestyle, and innovation to offer people unique experiences.”

Those experiences include getting hands-on with Samsung’s smartphones, tablets, and wearable devices, and trying out Samsung tech linked to virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things.

“For those who enjoy the thrills of kayaking or rowing, a not-to-be-missed VR experience is awaiting them,” Samsung offers as an example in its marketing bumph, adding, “Fitness enthusiasts can cycle through scenic Europe, racing alongside a friend.” The space also includes a “home theater zone” where people can watch movies and TV shows with friends and family.

Battling with Xiaomi

The opening of Samsung Opera House reflects the company’s efforts to boost its profile in a country where it’s currently the leading smartphone seller alongside Chinese tech company Xiaomi. During the most recent quarter for which figures are available, the two firms accounted for 60 percent of smartphone sales in India, with each one selling 10 million devices.

Samsung had dominated the Indian market for more than five years until 2017 when it was toppled by Xiaomi, but this year’s data suggests it’s staging a comeback. Apple, meanwhile, has less than two percent of the Indian smartphone market, with most consumers continuing to opt for cheaper devices over Apple’s pricier offerings.

Hoping to capitalize on its resurgence, Samsung recently opened a 32-acre mobile-phone factory near the Indian capital of New Delhi, a facility that it claims is the largest of its type in the world. The factory will enable the South Korean tech giant to manufacture as many as 120 million phones a year in the country, almost doubling its current capacity.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Samsung’s hyped budget foldable phone finally shows its face
Alleged render of Samsung Galaxy Z flip 7 FE.

Samsung, it seems, is ready to open its budget foldable phone innings under the “Fan Edition” banner later this year. So far, we’ve only heard murmurs of a Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE being in development, but we finally may have our first purported look at the real thing.
The folks over at SammyGuru (with leakster OnLeaks) have shared what they claim to be CAD-based renders of the upcoming phone, alongside a video depicting it from all angles. From the looks, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE will likely duplicate the vanilla Galaxy Z Flip 6’s design language.

Staying close to home
As per the latest leak, the affordable foldable offering will reportedly offer a 3.4-inch cover display and a 6.7-inch inner foldable panel. The only major difference is that the FE trim could be slightly narrower, but a tad thicker (7.4mm vs 6.9mm) than the Galaxy Z Flip 6.

Read more
It’s a good day for Samsung Galaxy S23 owners as One UI 7 beta rolls out
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra's camera.

Samsung announced it would be opening up the One UI 7.0 Beta Program for its Galaxy S23 series a couple of weeks ago and in what is great news for the Galaxy S23 owners among you, that day has now arrived (in some regions anyway). 

The South Korean company has released the Android 15-based One UI 7.0 beta update in India and Korea for the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+ and the Galaxy S23 Ultra, with other markets expected to follow. 

Read more
World’s thinnest phone is here, but it’s not the iPhone 17 Air or Galaxy S25 Edge
Side profile of Tecno Spark Slim.

The year 2025 could very well mark the arrival of super slim phones. Samsung has already given us a glimpse of the Galaxy S25 Edge, and could launch it as soon as April. Apple, on the other hand, is heavily anticipated to launch an iPhone 17 Air model later this year.

It seems a relatively unknown brand will beat them to the game.

Read more