New rumors continue to trickle out regarding a significant name change Samsung may be planning for its 2020 Galaxy S11 lineup — a Galaxy S11 lineup that may not even be called that at all.
We already reported here, based on the tip from well-known insider Ice Universe, that Samsung may take a cue from the start of a new decade (the ’20s) and use that to inject something new into the branding of what will be one of the most important Android handsets of 2020. Now, based in part on vendors like case manufacturer Schnailcase, it seems that even more changes could be in store for the new phone series branding. In short: The “e-” branded phone name would go away (the name, not the phone), which would make the phone we’d been calling the Galaxy S11 until now the new entry-level model.
https://twitter.com/HarmlessKarl/status/1211642570100613120
That S11, however, would be renamed as the Galaxy S20. The S11+ would be renamed as the S20+ (as the mid-tier of the lineup), while the most expensive handset would be renamed as the S20 Ultra. All of it, of course, similar to the naming convention Apple recently instituted for the iPhone 11 — with the Roman numerals going away altogether so that the iPhone 11 became the new base model, and going up from there.
What’s in a name, really? Going forward, this begs the question of whether or not it’s outside the realm of possibility that Samsung might launch the S30 in 2021, and then the S40, and so on. Will the name alone imply a major leap forward in the minds of some consumers? It’s also worth noting that Samsung has been using this numbering system for mid-range devices from its Galaxy A and M series — so, phones like the Galaxy A90 and M40, respectively.
Ahead of the tenth anniversary of the launch of Samsung’s flagship phone, there had been scattered reports that Samsung might opt for a different naming convention of some kind to mark the occasion. That, of course, didn’t happen, but now it seems that Samsung is set to switch the S-phone lineup to branding that possibly helps better position it against Apple in the minds of some people. Calling its new entry-level phone the Galaxy S11, for example, certainly makes it sound like a phone that’s a generation behind next year’s iPhone 12.
