Gone are the days when phone launches were one or two products. These days, we’re looking to more, it seems.
Even though 2020 hasn’t quite gone like other years, product releases are still happening, and in large amounts. While phone releases have been a little staggered since the cancellation of Mobile World Congress, and pretty much every other 2020 trade show barring CES 2020 which got in early, we’re still seeing them bit by little bit.
Some haven’t quite turned up yet — we’re looking at you, expected Google Pixel 4a and pretty much any new flagship by LG — while some companies are churning out a little more than expected.
Take Oppo, which didn’t just have one 5G phone to show off, but three variants of its Find X2 flagship in the months past.
Samsung is much the same, and may have a few variants of its upcoming “Note” range ready to launch when Samsung Unpacked kicks off on August 6, just a couple of weeks away. Almost like an address to acknowledge the rumours circulating about various models.
We’ve known for a while the “Note” range would continue, which is hardly a surprise given it’s one of the more successful Samsung ranges, both in sales, features, and reviews, but Samsung’s President and Head of Mobile Commnunications TM Roh has outlined what we can expect in a recent blog post to Samsung, citing “five new power devices” that will be unveiled at the launch, with these aiming to Samsung at the forefront of what it calls the “next normal”. That vision is based on how technology will be present in our approach to living, which sees mobile technology used for learning, fitness, concerts, and more.
It’s a vision Samsung suggests will see “even bolder innovation”, with developments that are “more personal, intelligent, useful, and secure”, and touch on both 5G and foldable technologies.
“As leaders of the tech industry, we have a special responsibility – and now a true sense of urgency – to help society continue to move forward,” wrote Roh. “So many people are counting on us to give them new ways to communicate, new ways to work, and new ways to connect.”
As to whether Samsung’s next devices will do just that remains to be seen, but with five devices being talked up, and words like “hand”, “ears”, and “wrist” listed, the feeling is you can expect a new generation of Galaxy Watch, a new variants of Galaxy earphones possibly with noise cancellation, and as many as three versions of the Note 20 phone, named after not just the year (2020), but also in succession with the Galaxy S20 models released earlier in the year. One of those could even be foldable and 5G, something Samsung has yet to release through its two foldable phones.
For now, it’s just a lot of talk, but whatever starts and constitutes this “Next Normal” will be revealed on August 6, so stay tuned.
