Samsung’s has pretty much confirmed the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Fold 2 are on their way, with it planning to pack in features to attract buyers even as the coronavirus pandemic causes the company uncertainty.
In it’s latest earning report, Samsung noted that it could face tough competition in the smartphone arena as rival companies ramp up their efforts to snatch back lost time and attention due to the COVID-19 crisis. But Samsung plans to come out on top by releasing a new Note phone and a new foldable handset, as well as lean heavily on 5G capabilities for its smartphones.
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The coronavirus pandemic has hit Samsung reasonably hard, with a slump in sales of phones and TVs translating into a 7.6% decrease in total revenue in comparison to the previous quarter.
Samsung still saw its profits rise by 3% to around $5.2 billion, but that was thanks to the performance of its chip division, and it expects its second-quarter profits for its mobile and TV division to “decline significantly” as people reduce spending on non-essentials while the coronavirus crisis continues. But Samsung plans to bounce back in the second half of the year.
“The Company will continue to offer differentiated products in the premium segment with the launch of new foldable and Note models,” Samsung said. “The Company also plans to enhance product competitiveness by expanding 5G adoption to mass-market smartphones and improve operational efficiency across all areas throughout R&D, production, supply, channel and marketing.”
So that basically confirms the Galaxy Note 20 is in the works and that we can expect another foldable device that’ll more than likely be the Galaxy Fold 2 rather than a follow-up to the Galaxy Z Flip. And both phones look set to have the best tech Samsung has on offer.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
The Galaxy Note phones always represent the pinnacle of Samsung’s flagships, packing in all of the features from the preceding S-series phones into a larger frame and adding in extra features such as additional sensors, the S Pen, and a bigger battery. And Samsung will likely do the same thing this time around, as the next Note is slated to have pretty much everything Samsung can throw at it, especially 5G capabilities.
From the leaks and rumors so far, the Galaxy Note 20 looks to be a significant upgrade over the Galaxy Note 10 Plus, with it set to get a 120Hz refresh rate display, with potential for its screen to top seven inches — at least for the bigger Note 20 Plus model.
There's also speculation that the Galaxy Note 20 could even come with an under-display selfie camera, which would be a first for a smartphone and certainly give it a feature to help it stand out against Apple's iPhone 12 and it's smaller notch.
Galaxy Fold 2
The Galaxy Fold 2 also looks poised to get all of the high-end features Samsung can throw at it. Rumours have suggested it could use the "Infinity-O" punch-hole camera found in the likes of the Galaxy S20 Ultra, thereby getting rid of the crunchy camera cut out the original Galaxy Fold had.
From concept images we've seen so far based on the various leaks and rumours, the Galaxy Fold 2 could look absolutely stunning, fulfilling the ambition of being a proper next-generation mobile device.
We also expect it to come with a larger 7.6-inch high-refresh main display, as well as an improved hinge mechanism, more durable foldable display, and a larger 6.2-inch external screen for when the Fold 2 is being used as a smartphone rather than a tablet. And 5G connectivity will be present.
We've also heard that the Galaxy Fold 2 will feature a similar camera system to the Galaxy S20 Plus, which means you can expect a 12MP primary lens, a 64MP telephoto camera and a 12MP ultra-wide shooter.
Samsung didn’t say when it will release either the Galaxy Note 20 or Galaxy Fold 2, but its statement was for the second half of the year. So we’d hazard a guess that the Note 20 will arrive sometime around August, with the Galaxy Fold 2 either being revealed at the same time or slightly later on in the year.
