The Galaxy Note 6 is due to be released in the next couple of months, and the latest rumor relating to this Samsung phablet suggests that we may see an entirely new variant released this time round. It is suggested that a cheaper version of the Galaxy Note 6, a potential Galaxy Note 6 Lite, will accompany the main smartphone in 2016.
Galaxy Note 6 Lite – Pared down
The Galaxy Note 6 Lite will feature pared down specifications at an affordable price point intended to ensure that this is a mass market device. Clearly Samsung believes that its phablet range can reach a mainstream audience, and there is thus clear incentive for the corporation to introduce a new Galaxy Note 6 variant.
There is little solid information regarding the Galaxy Note 6 Lite as of yet, as Samsung naturally has not confirmed its existence, considering that the Galaxy Note 6 itself has yet to be acknowledged either. But it is likely that the processor in the device will be somewhat less powerful than in the standard Galaxy Note 6, and the resolution of the device could possibly also be inferior to the Galaxy Note 6.
However, early reports suggest that the specs of the device will be largely identical to the Galaxy Note 6 aside from these two areas; this is ultimately to be an extremely powerful performer. It will be interesting to see how Samsung chooses to price the Galaxy Note 6 Lite, but it doesn’t sound based on these early suggestions that a massive price reduction will be possible.
East Asia link
One suggestion in media reports on the Galaxy Note 6 Lite is that this device may be intended for select markets in Asia alone. Samsung typically dominated the East Asian marketplace until recently, and it still has a massive consumer presence and brand recognition in its native territories. Rather than fragment its market share in the Western marketplace, Samsung may choose to experiment with the Galaxy Note 6 Lite in what are perceived to be its stronger markets.
The information in question has been leaked by the Chinese social media site Weibo, which is becoming an increasingly fertile source of Samsung information. Weibo suggests that the Galaxy Note 6 Lite will be part of a trio of devices launched by Samsung in the next couple of months, with a flatscreen phablet being accompanied by a curved screen variant. The Lite name that is being attached to this new device does suggest suggest reduced performance, but the likelihood is that it will be rather nifty in reality.
Samsung will be motivated to release the Galaxy Note 6 Lite as the corporation is competing in an increasingly balkanized marketplace. It is essential for major smartphone competitors such as Apple and Samsung to produce as many devices as is feasible, as there are an increasing number of niches in the mobile marketplace.
Samsung overtakes Apple
After enduring a difficult period commercially, Samsung has recovered significantly over the last few months. The recent news that its sales have overtaken Apple in the United States is indicative of this process, and there is no doubt that the Korean corporation has worked extremely hard to recalibrate its entire strategy and product range.
Back in 2014, Samsung was forced to concede that its devices had fallen behind Apple, and that its strategy had been inadequate over the calendar year in question. This has led to a lot of soul-searching at the Korean company, and it seems that the market research and consideration that Samsung gave to rebooting its approach to smartphones has paid off handsomely.
Central to this ethos has been manufacturing and delivering devices that ultimately provide what consumers want rather than incredible specs and figures. Samsung has been notable for producing devices in the past with fantastic specifications, yet this can often alienate, or be completely irrelevant, to consumers.
The history of consumer electronics has been replete with devices that purported to offer technical superiority, yet which ultimately bombed in the marketplace. This has been the same across multiple aspects of consumer electronics, and the lesson that has been learned by the most successful companies, not least Apple with its iPhone range, is that simplicity and usability trumps technical superiority.
It seems that Samsung is finally learning this lesson, and producing devices with excellent design parameters that are aesthetically pleasing, and which deliver effective and user-friendly features. Clearly the Galaxy Note 6 Lite is its latest attempt to advance this mentality, and it will be interesting to see what the Korean electronics giant produces when this smartphone is released.
Branding challenge
One challenge for Samsung with the Galaxy Note 6 Lite will be to deliver what is an appropriate device for the branding of the range. Although the Galaxy S series remains the flagship of the Samsung mobile product range – with sales of the Galaxy S7 backing up this impression recently – the Galaxy Note series has become renowned for delivering absolutely outstanding quality. I believe it has been the most impressive Samsung mobile over the last few years.
Samsung will not wish to compromise this quality of the Galaxy Note range when it releases the Galaxy Note 6 Lite, but by the same token there will be pressure on the Korean manufacturer to ensure that this device is affordable. So this will be something of a delicate balancing act for Samsung, and one that will have to be addressed assiduously.
Although 2014 turned out to be an ultimately disappointing one for Samsung, it followed years of growth which led the hierarchy of the company to state in the early months of that calendar year that the corporation could overtake Apple in the mobile marketplace. It has taken a couple of years for the Korean corporation to resurrect its market position, and now it must be eyeing the possibility of becoming the most significant manufacturer of mobile devices in the world once more. The Galaxy Note 6 Lite will clearly be another stepping stone to this exalted goal.
