Opinion: Samsung must be as bold with the Galaxy S11 as it is with its TVs
CES 2020 has been all about Samsung TVs. We’ve seen everything from advances in AI to a whole load of high-end TVs covering everything from 8K, MicroLEDs to gigantic bezel-free sets hit the showroom floor.
Make no mistake 2020 is shaping up to be a big year for the Korean firm’s TV division. After Samsung wrapped up its TV-focussed ‘First Look’ event I wandered around the demo area and was impressed over-and-over again. These TVs announced are very high-end products and likely not the next set you’ll pick up from John Lewis but each one showed some sort of clever innovation.
There’s the rotating Sero; a TV designed to connect with your phone and display vertical video from the likes of Instagram Stories. I can’t say I love this kind of video – especially at 43-inches – but it does show some serious balls from Samsung. Then there’s the Q950TS – an 8K, AI-infused TV with some seriously exciting upscaling tech and a display that takes up 99% of the front. Add to that massive step-forwards with huge modular MicroLED blocks and more variety with the brand’s Frame televisions.
But this leaves us with one key question: will the Galaxy S11 follow Samsung TV’s lead? Samsung’s CES 2020 TV line-up got me excited and I would love to see this kind of innovation and quirky decisions make its way to the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S11.
We know the next Galaxy flagship is coming, and it’s coming very soon. Shortly before CES 2020 kicked off Samsung confirmed, by way of a tweet, that its next Unpacked event would be happening on February 11 and we expect to see the entire Galaxy S11 series launched (S11, S11 Plus, S11e and possibly 5G iterations of each) alongside the Galaxy Fold 2 make an appearance.
As with pretty much every phone these days plenty of information has leaked, but even if at this stage we don’t know everything. Rumours point towards a 120Hz display, a camera with loads of megapixels and you can pretty much guarantee each phone will be powered by the latest Exynos or Qualcomm chipset. These upgrades are welcome, but nothing so far screams a massive jump forward.
2019 wasn’t a banner year for flagship phones. 5G and foldables were introduced, with mixed results, and there weren’t many huge innovations when it came to the phones released by the big names. There was the usual advances in speed, camera and to a lesser extent battery life.
What I would absolutely love to see is for Samsung to take some of that innovation we saw with the CES 2020 range of televisions and do something similar with its phone. Try something different, kick the industry forward and take us into the decade with a new way to look at our smartphone.
I guess you could say it tried this last year with the Galaxy Fold. This was supposed to be the start of the next-gen of the smartphone; giving us multiple form-factors that could still fit in a pocket. It’s a shame that early issues forced the Fold into being heavily delayed but I really hope this doesn’t stop Samsung doing it again and hopefully succeeding.
Will the Samsung Galaxy S11 be a great phone with a bevvy of the usual spec updates we see every year? Most probably, yes. But there’s always the chance we could be in for something a little different.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
