- Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Fold 2 during an online-only Unpacked press conference because of the ongoing coronavirus health crisis.
- A date for the event hasn’t been set, but the new phones should be unveiled by late August, considering Samsung’s Galaxy Note launch history.
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Samsung’s decision to announce the Galaxy S20 series and Galaxy Fold several weeks before what should have been this year’s pre-MWC press events day turned out to be a success for the company. Not only did the two handsets get plenty of attention from the press, but the trade show was canceled because of coronavirus worries. All of the other smartphone announcements that were scheduled for the event had to be delayed.
As the novel coronavirus health crisis evolved, several other significant events were canceled, including Microsoft Build, Google I/O, and WWDC. Microsoft and Apple went forward with new formats, while Google scrapped its developer event. Other product announcements will have to be made online in the coming months, and Samsung’s upcoming flagships might be on that list. A new report out of Korea says that the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Fold 2 will be unveiled at an online press conference later this summer.
The two flagships have appeared in quite a few reports already. The Galaxy Note 20 will look a lot like the S20, but it will come only in two sizes, both featuring a built-in S Pen. There will also be no Galaxy Note 20 Ultra this year. The Galaxy Note 20 is said to feature the same Snapdragon 865 processor as the Galaxy S20 and a bigger in-screen fingerprint sensor powered by Qualcomm’s 3D Sonic Max tech, according to recent reports.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy Fold 2 should feature an improved, notch-less design, a new camera system, and a screen that could support S Pen interaction. If that rumor pans out, then the second-gen Fold should also sport a more durable display than the original model. The Fold 2 will also be cheaper than the first Samsung foldable, but the first Fold might be re-released in an updated version that could cost just $1,100.
Samsung is already discussing the Unpacked online event for the Note 20 and Fold 2 smartphones, The Korea Herald reports. But the company hasn’t decided on a date. An online event gives Samsung more freedom to set the timing, even if it’s not an ideal solution to generate buzz for a new series of flagship phones.
The new flagships should still be unveiled at some point in early August at the latest, based on previous years. The latest Note usually launches at least a month before the newest iPhones, which drop in September. That way, Samsung has a few weeks to sell the handset without worrying about its main competitor.
The report doesn’t offer an actual Galaxy Note 20 release date or the pricing structure for the upcoming series. The Galaxy S20’s sky-high price combined with the coronavirus pandemic hurt sales significantly. That said, it’ll be interesting to see whether the cheaper Note 20 will be more affordable than the entry-level S20.
