We’ve reported in depth at this point that Samsung remains the top global smartphone maker in the world as ranked by shipments, though its numbers have been dropping. Squeezed at the low end by inexpensive yet credible challenges from Chinese handset makers, and of course at the top end by a certain company from Cupertino, Samsung’s mobile business has been in need of a jolt for a while now. It seems poised to get that in a big way next year, with the planned release of the company’s much-anticipated foldable smartphone, as well as the Galaxy S10.
And now we may have yet another product series to add to that mix.
As spotted by LetsGoDigital, Samsung filed a trademark application in the UK at the end of November for the name “Samsung Rize.” The UK listing specifically mentions smartphones and appears to refer to device names that include the Samsung Rize10, Samsung Rize20 and Samsung Rize30. In Mexico, meanwhile, the company has likewise requested trademarks for those same names.
This would appear to bring an all-new naming convention to Samsung’s smartphone series that include Galaxy Note, S, A and J devices. Samsung hasn’t said anything official yet about a Rize-branded device — though, again, the trademark filings specifically refer to smartphones — so we’ll have to wait and see what the plan is here. The folks over at 91Mobiles speculate that whatever Samsung is planning will fall into its mid-range device category, while LetsGoDigital thinks it’s possible the Rize branding could be intended for the Galaxy S10 series. After all, the site points out, we’re expecting three S10 models early next year — and there were even rumors earlier this year that the S10 series might launch with a different name sort of like what Apple did with the iPhone X.
The so-called Galaxy F foldable phone is definitely next year’s wild card. It’s expected to be shown off at Mobile World Congress in February, with availability to come the following month. It will bring an all-new form factor to consumers used to handling a smartphone a certain way, so between that, that S10 and whatever Samsung is cooking up with the Rize branding, 2019 will certainly be a busy year on the mobile front for the South Korea-based tech giant.
