Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| A customer tries out Samsung Electronics' new Galaxy Note20 smartphone at the Galaxy Note20 Studio in Seoul, Aug. 8. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics |
By Baek Byung-yeul
With the Galaxy Note series, Samsung Electronics has attracted a slew of customers who want a more PC-like experience with the S Pen stylus on a big screen, ever since the jumbo phone's first edition was unveiled in 2011.
This year without exception, the tech giant introduced the latest Note on Aug. 5 at a virtual Unpacked event. However, the new Galaxy Note20 series left industry analysts scratching their heads over the future of the Note phone as it is losing its distinction of being an all-in-one device.
To compete with its rival Apple, Samsung has been putting its focus on the Galaxy Z foldable phones, which can deliver new user experiences to its customers with screens that can be folded.
Unveiling the next-generation Galaxy Z Fold2 foldable phone during the Unpacked event, Samsung showed its will to expand the sales volume of the Z series foldable phones.
Though Samsung didn't say anything about the future of the Note series, industry analysts said the Note20 may be the last of its line as the company is expected to add the S Pen to the Z Fold phones starting next year.
Given the new Note smartphone doesn't support features the Galaxy S20 series has such as a time-of-flight (ToF) sensor, they added it is getting clear that there will be no sequel to the Note20.
"When the next-generation Z Fold smartphone is equipped with the S Pen stylus, chances are there will be no Note phones next year," said Lee Dong-joo, an analyst at SK Securities.
"The Galaxy Note20 has two models, though the Note20 Ultra model supports a 120Hz refresh rate but doesn't feature a ToF sensor. Its camera performance is also downgraded compared to the Galaxy S20 series as it supports digital zoom up to 50 times while the S20 Ultra allows users to zoom up to 100 times," the analyst said.
The ToF sensor enables a smartphone camera to measure distance using infrared light and capture 3D images. Though the previous Galaxy Note10 Plus and the Galaxy S20 Ultra had the ToF sensor, Samsung excluded the sensor in the Note20 series.
Given the ToF sensor is widely used for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies, which have been increasingly used in various kinds of applications, Samsung's decision not to feature the ToF sensor comes as an unexpected one.
Since its debut in 2011, the Note series has successfully nurtured a loyal customer base with its big displays and S Pen stylus. But with other phone makers trying to feature bigger displays, the Note is losing its uniqueness.
Samsung is pursuing a "dual-track strategy" in its smartphone business, selling the Galaxy S series and the Z Flip phones in the first half and launching the new Z Fold phones in the latter half.
Industry analysts said the foldable smartphone will become normal in the near future. According to market researcher Strategy Analytics, the sales volume of foldable phones will be increased to 100 million in 2025, from about 1 million in 2019.
