Samsung has surprised many fans of its Android-driven Galaxy series this week by suggesting that it will completely bypass the Galaxy Note 6 generation. This was confirmed by a high-ranking official at the Korean consumer electronics giant, who told a native publication that the next phablet release from Samsung is likely to be branded the Galaxy Note 7.
This would represent the first time in the history of the Galaxy Note phablet that Samsung has chosen to entirely skip a generational number for marketing reasons, and it may seem like something of a strange decision. It would seem to follow naturally that the next cab off the rank of the Galaxy Note range would be the Galaxy Note 6, but Samsung seems to see things differently.
Galaxy Note 7 – Samsung reasoning
There seems to be two primary motivations for the decision to skip the Galaxy Note 6 generation. Firstly, with the Galaxy S7 already released, Samsung is essentially shoring up its mobile range, and ensuring that they all feature the same digit as part of their titles. This does make logical sense to a certain extent, with the Korean corporation having been accused previously of having something of a confusing policy towards its device releases.
Secondly, the great rival of Samsung, Apple, is expected to release the iPhone 7 in September, and thus the idea of a Galaxy Note 7 will fit neatly into what can be viewed as a seventh generation phablet. While the Galaxy Note 7 is not the only Samsung device intended to compete directly with the iPhone 7, it will be the first Samsung mobile released ahead of the hugely popular mass-market Apple phone.
Windows 10 foreshadowing
While the decision of Samsung is unique for the Korean company, and certainly an unusual one, it is also not the first time that a major company has decided to skip a generation in one of its flagship products. Perhaps the most obvious recent example of this was the decision of Microsoft to skip the Windows 9 generation completely and release Windows 10 a couple of years ago.
This decision was precipitated by rather different motivations, with the Windows 8 release having been something of a disaster for the software giant. Microsoft wished to create the impression that Windows 10 was a landmark release for the operating system series, and was also an attempt to completely separate the flagship software from the unfortunate Windows 8 version.
It is certainly not the case that the Galaxy Note 5 was a disaster for Samsung; indeed, it is generally considered that the phablet is now the most impressive device produced by the corporation. But Samsung has been emboldened in its ongoing war Apple by recent events, with the Korean corporation picking up in both revenue and profit terms, while Apple is struggling with diminished sales.
BlackBerry mobile leap
Other mobile manufacturers have also skipped Generations in an attempt to aid marketing. BlackBerry indeed transitioned from the BlackBerry 7 to BlackBerry 10 at a time of crisis for the company. So even in the mobile marketplace the decision of Samsung to neglect releasing a Galaxy Note 6 is not unprecedented.
If there is a good time for Samsung to make a controversial decision, now could be it, as the tide seems to be flowing in the direction of the Korean company for the first time in a couple of years. It is not that long ago that Samsung signalled its intention to overtake Apple as the most prominent producer of mobile technology on the planet, but a lot of water has flowed under the smartphone bridge since those comments were made at the start of 2014.
Samsung has been something of a beleaguered company for most of that period, so it will be more than a relief for the hierarchy of the corporation that things now seems to be moving in the right direction. Recent data indicated that Samsung has once more overtaken Apple in the United States in terms of pure units shifted, and the Galaxy Note 7 could signal the beginning of a more aggressive strategy from the Korean corporation where it attacks Apple head-on.
Double curved design
Early reports on the presumed Galaxy Note 7 suggest that the smartphone will feature the same curvature on both the front and rear of the device, taking advantage of the increasingly favorable reputation that Samsung’s curved screen technology enjoys. ET News believes that the phablet will go into production as early as July, suggesting a release date in early August, or possibly even late July.
This production date ETA is indicative of Samsung’s a general policy for device releases, which is deliberately creating a chasm between Apple and the Korean corporation. Samsung is attempting to explicitly separate the release dates of its devices from the Apple iPhone range, having brought the Galaxy S7 out earlier this year than in previous calendar years in order to separate the device from the Apple iPhone 6C.
Note 7 specs
Samsung tends to arm its flagship phablet with some of the most impressive specifications in the mobile world, and it thus seems likely that the Galaxy Note 7 will be no exception to this rule. While the Galaxy S range remains the biggest seller for the Korean Corporation, the Galaxy Note series is something of a testing ground for some of the more ambitious features, functions and specs that Samsung has in mind for its mass-market handset.
So the Galaxy Note 7 will probably feature an improved screen, with the most ambitious suggestion coming via Weibo. This Chinese social networking platform suggested that the Galaxy Note 7 could have a six-inch 4K resolution display, which would certainly get tongues wagging ahead of the release of the device.
With processor upgrades, increased storage, RAM and memory all expected for the Galaxy Note 7, this should be a notable phablet for more reasons than the simple skipping of numbers.
