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Seoul (Dec 1): Samsung Electronics Co Ltd may discontinue its premium phone Galaxy Note next year, sources with knowledge of the matter said, a move that would reflect the sharp drop in demand for high-end smartphones due to the pandemic of coronavirus.
The Galaxy Note, known for its large screen and a stylus for taking notes, is one of two series of premium phones from Samsung; the other is the more compact Galaxy S that attracts consumers with its cutting edge parts.
Currently, the South Korean tech giant has no plans to develop a new version of the Galaxy Note by 2021, said three sources, declining to be named as the plans were not public.
Instead, the top model of the Galaxy S series, the S21, will have a stylus and the next version of Samsung’s foldable phone will be compatible with a stylus, which will be sold separately, one of the sources said.
A second source said that the company’s development efforts that normally would have gone into the Note would now be channeled to its range of foldable phones.
Samsung declined to comment.
Tom Kang, an analyst at research firm Counterpoint, said sales of Samsung’s Note series are expected to fall by a fifth to 8 million this year, while sales of the S series are likely to fall by 5 million to less than 30 million.
“The demand for premiums has decreased this year and a lot of people are not looking for new products,” he said.
The Galaxy Note 20 launched in the United States this year priced at $ 999, on par with the Galaxy S20, while the iPhone 12 starts at $ 799.
Samsung first launched the Note in 2011, breaking new ground in the market for larger screen models and helping it overtake Apple Inc to become the world’s largest smartphone maker for the first time that year.
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