Galaxy S22 with S Pen... This Time Unpacked in February

Expected to be unveiled at Unpacked event in February next year
Top-tier Ultra model with built-in S Pen

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] There are speculations that Samsung Electronics' next-generation flagship smartphone, the ‘Galaxy S22’ series, will be unveiled through an unpacking event in February next year. In particular, the top-tier model of the S22 series, the ‘Galaxy S22 Ultra,’ is expected to feature a built-in S Pen, which is likely to attract significant attention from fans disappointed by the absence of the ‘Galaxy Note’ this year.

According to well-known IT tipster John Prosser on the 8th, Samsung Electronics is expected to unveil the S22 series at a global unpacking event on February 8 next year and officially release it on the 18th of the same month.

Samsung's decision to revert to a February release, as in previous years, after launching the flagship ‘Galaxy S21’ series in January last year, is interpreted as a response to the underwhelming effect of the early release. To counter Apple's first 5G phone, the ‘iPhone 12,’ Samsung lowered the launch price of the ‘Galaxy S21’ to below 1 million KRW and advanced the release date by a month. However, the S21 has so far underperformed expectations. According to market research firm Counterpoint Research in August, 13.5 million units of the S21 series were sold in the six months following its January launch, about 20% less than the 17 million units sold of the ‘Galaxy S20’ series during the same period.

The ongoing global semiconductor shortage is also a factor making an early release of the S22 difficult. Smartphone manufacturers like Samsung Electronics and Apple are still struggling to supply products due to the global chip shortage, with popular products continuing to experience delivery delays. Under these circumstances, it is unlikely that sufficient semiconductors can be supplied for new products as well.

Additionally, the strong sales and positive reception of the third-generation foldable phones, the ‘Galaxy Z Fold3’ and ‘Galaxy Z Flip3,’ released in the second half of this year, provide a reason for Samsung not to rush the S22 launch. Last month, Samsung introduced the ‘Z Flip3 Bespoke Edition’ to continue the foldable phone’s success. The Bespoke Edition allows consumers to choose the colors of the frame and front and back panels themselves.

John Prosser also revealed photos presumed to be of the actual S22 alongside the release schedule. The most notable feature in the photos is the slot (storage space) for housing the S Pen inside the S22 Ultra model.

The ‘Galaxy Note’ series, known for its large screen and built-in S Pen for handwriting, has been very popular since its first release in 2011. However, as large screens became common on smartphones and other S Pen-compatible models appeared, rumors of discontinuation surfaced. No new Note products were released this year, and the industry had largely accepted discontinuation as a given. In this context, if the S22 Ultra model is launched with features actively adopting the characteristics of the Note series, it is expected to actively absorb consumer demand disappointed by the absence of the Note series.

Meanwhile, the quasi-premium smartphone ‘Galaxy S21 Fan Edition (FE)’ is expected to serve as a bridge before the S22 launch. The S21 FE is anticipated to be unveiled on January 4 next year and officially released on the 11th of the same month.

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