Samsung is getting ready to unveil the Galaxy S9, and the phone might be the last of its name. Samsung is supposedly getting ready to ditch the Galaxy S numbering scheme in 2019, which means there will never be a Galaxy S10 if this new report is accurate.
Can you guess what that name might be, and which top rival Samsung will apparently copy?
A source from Korea told Tekz24 (via GizChina) that the Galaxy S10 will actually be called Galaxy X.
Apparently, Samsung wants to adapt the naming scheme of the Galaxy S line to present day reality and avoid awkward product names like Galaxy S11 and Galaxy S15 down the road.
If Samsung is indeed doing it, then there’s obviously a good chance it’s because of Apple. The iPhone maker is in the process of changing the naming structure of its iPhone models as we speak. For the first time in iPhone history, Apple released three iPhones this year, and none of the models were named “iPhone 7s.” Apple jumped from iPhone 7 to iPhone 8 and iPhone X, with the latter pronounced “ten,” not X.
What’s strange about this rumor is that it seems to disregard a different Samsung phone that will be released this year. “Galaxy X” is said to be the name of Samsung’s first foldable smartphone, a third flagship series that would join the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lines.
Yes, that means the Galaxy X moniker was in the cards long before Apple unveiled its iPhone X. But this is the first time we’ve heard Samsung might be killing the Galaxy S name. It’s quite a coincidence for this rumor to arrive after Apple’s iPhone name change.
Is it possible that the next-gen Galaxy S model will be a foldable phone? We have no idea. But that’s one scenario in which both of these Samsung rumors would turn out to be correct. The first foldable Samsung phone would be called the Galaxy X and the Galaxy X would replace the Galaxy S.
The thing is, earlier reports have said in the past that Samsung’s first foldable phone run would be limited. Not only are such phones more challenging to manufacture, but Samsung is also reportedly looking to test the market before it dives in head first.
Finally, if the Galaxy S name is about to be discontinued, what will happen to the Note series? After all, Samsung did skip a beat last year, jumping from Note 5 to Note 7, in order to keep the S and Note series in sync. It would be odd for Samsung to make that move and then bail on the Galaxy S brand.
Elsewhere in the business, Google already transitioned from the Nexus to the Pixel family a couple of years ago. But it only did that because it shifted its strategy to manufacturing high-end devices rather than affordable Nexus phones. LG might also be rethinking its naming strategy for the G series, with a change expected this year. Instead of being named “G7,” the upcoming LG flagship might have a different naming structure entirely.
