Science

Samsung Unpacked Event Will Be August 7: What It Means for the Galaxy Note 10

The leaks have begun.

by Danny Paez
Flickr / TheBetterDay

It’s been a mixed year for Samsung smartphones. On one hand, it stunned the handset world in March with the elegant and notchless S10 series. But on the other hand, who could forget the faulty Galaxy Fold? With its next Galaxy Note 10 is just over the horizon, Samsung is about to try and regain control of its smartphone narrative.

Though the new Note 10 won’t fold in half, the massive phablet is expected to make its debut before the summer is out. Samsung is readying another Unpacked event for August 7 at the Barclays Center in New York City, according to a CNET report. The outlet cited anonymous sources that were familiar with the matter and Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last year, the company hosted the Unpacked event for the Note 9 at the same venue on August 9. Media invites for the event went out late in July. If Samsung follows the same script as last year, we should have confirmation about where the Note 10 will be unveiled in just over a month.

Samsung President Koh Dong-Jin showing off the Galaxy Note 9 at its 2018 Unpacked event.

Danny Paez

The Note series has traditionally targeted consumers who use their smartphones to work on the go. The Note 9 came with a Bluetooth-enabled stylus, a terabyte of internal storage, and a feature that lets you display the phone’s UI on a computer monitor. It’s expected to lean into those capabilities this year and hopefully pick up customers let down by the Galaxy Fold, but with a few twists.

Instead of just one model, Samsung is rumored to drop two versions of the Note 10, one of them with 5G support. The duo will also be distinguishable by their screen size, which are expected to be 6.3-inches and a massive 6.7-inches diagonally.

Renders of both potential Note 10 models.

PriceBaba Daily / Steve Hemmerstoffer

The rumors so far were depicted in a batch of renders published recently by famed mobile leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer, better known as OnLeaks. The mockups show that the devices will use the S10’s “Infinity-O” hole-punch display, come with three rear cameras, and skip out on the 3.5mm headphone jack once again.

The Note 9 was the most expensive mobile device Samsung launched last year, starting at $999, but it could get more costly this time around. The 6.4-inch S10+ already costs $999 for a base model. The extra screen real-estate, stylus, and 5G capabilities will cost you: Expect a four-figure starting price, with its most expensive model potentially grazing $1,500.