Samsung Galaxy S9’s are the newest Samsung phones, right? No, actually, the Galaxy S10 line just launched. There’s an S10 Plus that’s larger, and there’s the normal one. There’s even more Samsung phones coming soon: the massive Note 10 phones will be the follow-up to last year’s Note 9 phones.
According to new rumors swirling, the Note follow-ups could be coming as soon as the end of this Summer. This would bring Samsung up to staggering 7 new phone releases in fiscal 2019. Could this kind of release schedule be sustainable for the Korean manufacturer?
Samsung Note 10
Specs
It’s early yet, but we do know a few things about the Note 10. Firstly, it’ll come in two flavors, one with a 6.28-inch screen and one with a 6.75-inch screen. If those sound like ridiculously huge screens, that’s because they are. Tremendously so. However, that’s the entire appeal of the Note line of phones: they’re essentially phones mixed with tablets.
Early rumors hold that the Note 10 phones will be released in both LTE and 5G compatible configurations. 5G is the coming network connectivity type that will allow for even faster wireless internet. If these rumors are true, it’s likely we’ll see these phones later in the year, around August or September.
Samsung’s Release Schedule
These rumors are a bit confusing, as this would mean that Samsung is releasing a full 7 new phones in the 2019 fiscal year. However, this comes amid the growing concerns that smartphone market saturation is reaching its peak.
Samsung is, far and away, the most successful phone manufacturer in the world. The Korean phone manufacturer is rivaled only by Huawei, a Chinese smartphone company that is embroiled in legal drama at the moment. However, can even the juggernaut support so many phones coming out so quickly?
Smartphone Saturation
Smartphones are slowing in innovation as the limits of handsets are pushed by each new generation. Likewise, smartphone prices have climbed above the $1000 mark for many flagship phones. This has come to result in the slowdown of smartphone sales.
Consumers hang on to their three- or four-year-old phones in lieu of upgrading for a huge fee. It’s not hard to see why: wages have been flat for decades in the West, and inflation hasn’t been met with rising wages. Can Samsung support a release schedule of so many high-priced phones in the face of this economic reality?