Samsung, the South Korean tech giant might discontinue their flagship Galaxy Note series from next year, a report from Reuters claims.
According to the report, the company would discontinue the series due to a drop in demand for higher-end phones due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Galaxy Note series, ever since its launch in 2011, has added the most premium end smartphones to the company’s lineup, with which it takes on rival Apple in the premium segment. With a stylus for note-taking and top of the line specs, the phone always has been one of the go-to premium phones for tech lovers. The other premium flagship that the company offers is the Galaxy S which attracts customers for its compact design and state-of-the-art features.
The latest model of the Galaxy Note series is the Galaxy Note 20 which retails for Rs. 77,999 in India and comes with Exynos 990 and Snapdragon 865+ processors, varying by different markets. The other variant of the phone is the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, which comes with a larger 6.9-inch WQHD dynamic AMOLED display, and has a refresh rate of 120Hz, retailing in India for Rs. 1,04,999.
In the USA the Galaxy Note 20 was launched with a price tag of $ 999, whereas iPhone 12 starts at $ 799. This means that the Note series includes some of the highest priced smartphones in the market, and due to the fall in demand of premium smartphones thanks to the coronavirus, Samsung might move away from the series, at least for the time being.
The South Korean company does not have any plan to develop a new version in 2021, sources claim.
Moreover, the company already has a premium offering in the Galaxy S lineup, and might move to combine the two series, starting from next year. The report states that instead of developing a new Galaxy Note, Samsung may focus on developing an S21 that will come bundled with a stylus. The company may also add in stylus with its foldable phone, which would be sold separately.
Tom Kang, an analyst at research firm Counterpoint, said that the sales of Galaxy Note will drop by a fifth to 8 million this year and the sales of Samsung’s S series phones will decline by 5 million to less than 30 million.
