Samsung will host its first 2021 Unpacked event on January 14th.
Samsung
The new year will bring some giveaways before Samsung’s normal. The South Korean electronics giant sent out invitations to its first 2021 Unpacked, which will take place at 7am PT on January 14 – about a month before last year and on the last day of the CES. He introduced “Welcome to the Everyday Epic” as the theme of the event, where the latest version of his Galaxy S smartphone should make its debut.
“Over the past year, mobile technology has taken center stage in everyday life, as people are working remotely and spending more time at home,” said Samsung. “The accelerated transition to a world that prioritizes mobile devices brings with it the need for devices that can transform everyday life into an extraordinary experience.”
Samsung will likely have three different flagship phone models: the 6.2-inch S21, the 6.7-inch S21 Plus and the 6.8-inch S21 Ultra. The devices are expected to look practically the same, but have larger camera modules, increasing their photo and video capabilities.
The company can also discontinue its Galaxy Note line this year and replace it with S Pen support on its Galaxy S21 Ultra. The first renderings do not show a visible location for a pen, which may mean that it must be housed separately from the phone when not in use. In Samsung’s popular – but niche – Note lineup, the stylus slides into the device for storage.
Samsung will also hold a press conference at CES on January 11. At this event, you are expected to focus on your TV and home appliance business, as you did in previous years. Unpacked will be the last day of CES.
The January 14 date for Unpacked comes before normal for Samsung. In the past, the company used to launch its newest flagship phone in February, just before or during the Mobile World Congress, and then launched the device in March or even April.
Recovering terrain
Samsung announced last year’s Galaxy S20 line and the foldable Galaxy Z Flip on February 11 in what was one of the technology industry’s last face-to-face events before the new coronavirus pandemic forced borders to close and governments to issue orders to stay at home. Galaxy S20 devices, all with 5G, started ordering on February 21 and hit stores on March 6.
The day after Unpacked, the organizers canceled the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which was scheduled for the end of February. At that time, COVID-19 had infected more than 42,000 people and claimed more than 1,000 lives. That number soared to about 85 million infections and about 1.8 million deaths, as the world struggles with a new crippling wave of the virus.
Samsung, like most technology companies, has struggled to sell its expensive smartphones during the pandemic. Although it was one of the first companies to launch a 5G phone, it was overtaken by Huawei as the largest phone maker in the world at a time that would normally have gotten a boost from sales of Galaxy S. The Chinese cellphone maker has become the the world’s largest smartphone supplier in the second quarter, the first time in nine years that Samsung or Apple did not have that title. Analysts had expected Apple to become the world’s second largest supplier of 5G phones in 2020 – with less than three months of sales. This put Samsung, once the leader with new connectivity, in third place.
The loss of its position at the top of the smartphone market prompted Samsung to make changes, including making Unpacked about a month earlier than usual. Samsung also changed its plans to deal with changes in consumer preferences during the pandemic. In September, it launched the Galaxy S20 FE, a cheaper model for its flagship smartphone line. The phone started at $ 700 – or $ 300 less than normal S20 costs – and came when the pandemic generated demand for cheaper devices.
Overall, Samsung regained ground in the third quarter to become the leading smartphone supplier again, while Huawei struggled to survive amid U.S. sanctions. Samsung recorded its highest quarterly revenue at the end of October, thanks to a “significant increase in consumer demand” for its smartphones, computers and other products.
Focus for 2021
Tae-moon Roh, president of Samsung and head of mobile communications, published a blog post in mid-December with details of the company’s plans for 2021. In addition to saying that the company would share more in January, Roh said that Samsung in 2021 would expand its foldable line and make devices “more accessible” – likely code to lower prices – in addition to placing more emphasis on the camera and video capabilities on your devices. The company will also bring features from its Galaxy Note devices to other phones in its portfolio, which will likely include support for S Pen in its upcoming Galaxy S21 phones.
“We never believe in a unique mobile experience for everyone and we will never believe it,” wrote Roh. He added that Samsung is “working on revolutionary advances in 5G,” artificial intelligence and the internet of things “that will redefine the parameters of what the phone can do and give consumers the freedom to customize their mobile experiences to fit their lives. – not the other way around. “
Along with new connectivity features and AI features, in 2021 Samsung plans to make it “easier to quickly find the things that matter most, from your keys to your wallet – even your pet”. The company is expected to introduce Tile-like physical smart trackers, possibly called Galaxy Smart Tags, to help people track their belongings using BlueTooth. Apple has long been said to be working on its own AirTags, but has yet to reveal anything in that area.
Return to CNET for full coverage of the Samsung event on January 14th.