#“Accessible” Folding Phones are Coming, Galaxy Note Features Expanding – Review Geek

This morning, Samsung’s President and Head of Mobile Dr. TM Roh posted an editorial talking about what the company is planning for 2021. Specifics were hard to find, but there were some highlights in the long post that might be of particular interest to consumers planning to upgrade to a new phone next year.

To be honest, the post is a lot of corporate speak, no doubt intended to get people thinking about Samsung as the tech press world prepares for the all-digital CES news push. But there are some specific highlights hidden in there. Roh says Samsung will be “expanding our portfolio of foldables, so this groundbreaking category is accessible to everyone.” In this context, “accessible” means “cheaper.” but given that Samsung’s least-expensive folding phone $1300, there’s a lot of wiggle room in that.

He went on to say that “We’ve also been paying attention to people’s favorite aspects of the Galaxy Note experience and are excited to add some of its most well-loved features to other devices in our lineup.” That indicates that the Galaxy Note series’ S-Pen functionality will probably be coming to the Galaxy S. The Galaxy Note has been rumored to be on the chopping block as Samsung focuses its high-end development on foldable screens.

In between dedications to 5G expansion, “AI” capabilities, and even more development on camera tech, Roh said that the company is going to introduce new tech for connected cars. There’s also a bit about “quickly locat[ing] the things that matter most, from your keys to your wallet — even your family pet.” Samsung already sells a SmartThings Tracker with integrated GPS, for tracking children and pets, but the mention of keys and wallets could indicate a new Tile-like short range tracker product. Both Samsung and Apple have been rumored to be working on this.

We’ll almost certainly see at least some of these indicated products in the early part of 2021, around the usual dates of the CES and Mobile World Congress shows (all digital thanks to COVID). Either then, or at Samsung’s own Unpacked presentations, which tend to be at the same time.

Source: Samsung via Engadget