Next Year’s Galaxy Note Vacancy Filled by Foldables

Galaxy Note 21 Release Date Uncertain... S21 Ultra Supports S Pen
Affordable Foldable 'Galaxy Z Fold FE' Expected Around 1 Million KRW

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Samsung Electronics is expected to make major changes to its flagship lineup next year. The Galaxy Note series will be discontinued, and the company plans to prominently feature the 'Galaxy Z' lineup, including affordable foldable smartphones priced around 1 million KRW.

According to industry sources on the 18th, Samsung Electronics is considering not releasing the Galaxy Note21 series next year. Starting with the Galaxy S21 Ultra, launching in January next year, which will support the S Pen, the Note series is expected to gradually phase out.

This year, sales of the Galaxy Note series did not meet expectations, and shipments of flagship smartphones have been steadily declining. The industry estimates that the Galaxy Note20 shipments this year will be around 7.4 million units. This is about 3 million units less compared to the Galaxy Note10, which shipped 11 million units in the third and fourth quarters of last year.

It has reached a point where Samsung Electronics must significantly reorganize its flagship lineup to establish the foldable smartphone category. Samsung is expected to make next year the inaugural year for the popularization of foldable smartphones and push aggressively in this direction.

There is also a possibility that an affordable foldable smartphone priced around 1 million KRW will fill the gap left by the Note series. Samsung is expected to unveil the foldable successor, tentatively named 'Galaxy Z Fold Lite,' next year. Samsung is also developing a foldable smartphone with the model number 'SM-F415.' Similar to the Galaxy Z Fold2 (SM-F916), it is likely to feature a horizontal folding design with a smaller cover screen and lower specifications.

Overseas IT tipsters predict that foldable smartphones with reduced prices, such as the Galaxy Z Fold FE (Fan Edition), will be released. Max Weinbach, a contributor to XDA Developers, explained, "Samsung's flagship products expected to launch next year include the Galaxy S21 FE, three Galaxy S21 models, Galaxy Z Fold3, Galaxy Z Flip3, and Galaxy Z Fold FE," adding, "Among these, three devices will support the S Pen."

However, a prerequisite for supporting the S Pen on foldable phones is improving durability to the extent that pen marks do not remain on the display even when writing with the pen.

At the August Unpacked event, Tae-moon Roh, President of Samsung Electronics' Wireless Business Division, commented on the possibility of equipping the Fold series with the S Pen, saying, "The S Pen is the most beloved feature of the Note, but we are pleased to see that people are interested in the functions of foldable phones."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.