There has been another development in the ongoing saga of Samsung’s next major smartphone release. Earlier this week we heard there could be a special Galaxy Note 3 with a flexible display on the horizon, followed by a report quoting a Samsung executive, who said the company would announce a curved phone in October. While it’s not absolutely clear at the moment, there’s a good chance both these reports refer to the same device.
Now, thanks to the Korean news site ETNews.com, there’s another mysterious phone to add to Samsung’s growing list of potential future releases – the Galaxy F. Quoting industry sources, the phone is said to be a metal-bodied premium device, and could be powered by the eight-core Exynos 5 Octa processor. It may also fit a 16-megapixel camera to the back of the phone, which may benefit from optical image stabilization, a megapixel count and feature which didn’t quite make it in time to be included on the Galaxy Note 3. Linking it to the reports above, although we don’t think this is the same phone, is talk of it having a flexible AMOLED screen, measuring at least 5-inches in size.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about a metal phone from Samsung, with talk cropping up in June and then again in August that the company was investigating metal smartphone bodies, in an effort to change its image. Most assumed one would debut on the Galaxy S5, but if ETNews’ sources are correct, the Galaxy F may arrive in March, a few months earlier than the Galaxy S5 is expected.
It’s speculated Samsung may be using the Galaxy F to fill a gap in its annual smartphone release schedule. The Galaxy Note fits perfectly into the pre-Christmas period, while the Galaxy S4 is it’s major summer release, so the Galaxy F would help plug the gap after the Note and before the S5. It’s certainly feasible, but the specs sound very similar to how we’d see the Galaxy S range progressing, so Samsung’s plans are still far from clear.
Whatever happens, it looks like Samsung is going to make the next few months very interesting indeed.
