Samsung on Wednesday morning sent out media invitations to its next Unpacked event, during which the company is widely expected to unveil its next-generation flagship smartphone, the Galaxy Note 9. The press conference is scheduled to take place on August 9th, which means Samsung curiously decided to announce the event more than a month before it’s scheduled to take place. Even more curious is the timing of the event, however. Samsung has historically unveiled its next-gen Note phones at the end of August ahead of a September release. The fact that this year’s event will take place so much earlier in the month suggests that the Galaxy Note 9’s release date will be slated for sometime in August, possibly almost a month earlier than last year’s Note 8 release.
The most interesting thing about the timing of this event is that it was foretold by the rumor mill months ago. It might seem like good news that Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 will launch ahead of schedule, giving the phone even more time on store shelves before Apple’s upcoming new 2018 iPhone lineup launches and steals the limelight. But it’s the rest of the news that came alongside the foretelling of Samsung’s Note 9 launch timing that should give people pause. Long story short, buying a Galaxy Note 9 this year might be the biggest mistake a Samsung fan can make.
Each and every year, Samsung’s new Galaxy Note smartphone is the hottest new handset on the market… for a few weeks until Apple releases its next-generation iPhone lineup. The latest Samsung phone then becomes nothing but a distant memory for many people. With that in mind, it makes sense that Samsung would try to release its new Galaxy Note 9 earlier than usual. This way, the Note 9 would have more time in the spotlight before Apple’s “iPhone X Plus” and its other new iPhone models are released in mid to late September.
But the same report that foretold the Galaxy Note 9’s early launch told us a different story.
Samsung typically launches three new flagship Galaxy phones each year. New Galaxy S and Galaxy S+ models are released in March or April, and those are the company’s flagships for the first half of the year. Then a new Galaxy Note phone hits store shelves in September. According to rumors that swirled earlier this year, however, Samsung is shifting the release schedule of the Galaxy Note 9 and next year’s Galaxy S10 and S10+ in order to make room for an entirely new line of flagship phones. That’s right, the upcoming foldable Galaxy X phone we’ve heard so much about.
But let’s forget about the Galaxy X for a moment. After all, it’s expected to be a niche phone with a sky-high price point that launches in very limited supply. The phone we’re more concerned with is the Galaxy S10, which is shaping up to be the most exciting new smartphone Samsung has launched in years.
Samsung is supposedly shifting the Galaxy Note 9’s release from September back to August because the Galaxy S10 will be released earlier than expected. According to several independent reports, the new Galaxy S10 line could be unveiled as soon as the CES 2019 trade show, which begins on January 8th. That means Samsung’s new S10 phones could be released later that month to give them time to breathe before Samsung’s Galaxy X unveiling, which could take place in late February.
The Galaxy Note 9 is expected to be a boring update, just like the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. It’ll look just like last year’s Galaxy Note 8, but with the same basic specs as the S9+. In fact, rumors suggest the phone’s most exciting new feature might be an S Pen with Bluetooth. If you want real excitement, you’ll definitely want to wait just a few months longer for the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+. These phones are expected to feature a new design with bezels that are barely there, a new optical fingerprint sensor embedded in the display, new rear cameras with 3D scanning features, and plenty more intriguing next-gen tech. The Galaxy S10+ might even be Samsung’s first phone to feature a triple-lens camera system on the back.
Sales of Samsung’s Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ have reportedly been quite disappointing, and the company is rumored to be missing its sales goals by a wide margin. The decision to reuse the same design and omit compelling new features is largely to blame. Now, the Galaxy Note 9 is shaping up to be just as boring as the S9 for the exact same reasons, but Samsung fans have an even more important reason to skip it. No, it’s not the “iPhone X Plus” Apple is getting ready to launch — it’s the exciting new Galaxy S10 lineup of phones that will likely debut much sooner than expected next year.
