The Galaxy Note 7, Samsung’s latest smartphone to be announced, only comes with a curved-edge screen. Even if you want a flat-screen version, you can’t have one because Samsung doesn’t make one — and it could signal a shift in strategy that will eventually filter down to the Galaxy S range of smartphones.
That’s the impression given by Samsung’s President of Mobile Communications Dong-jin Koh, when he was quoted as saying the company has, “considered that it would make the Edge display as the identity of the Galaxy S lineup,” by the Korea Herald during the Note 7’s launch in New York. Currently, Samsung produces the Galaxy S7 and the S7 Edge, two versions of essentially the same phone, outside of the curved display.
The Note range was the testbed for the Edge screen itself, appearing first on a version of the Note 4 at the end of 2014, before making its way to the Galaxy S6 Edge in mid-2015. Does this mean that in 2017, only a curved screen Galaxy S8 will arrive? And if it does, will the Edge name remain or like it has on the Note 7, become a thing of the past? Nothing is certain yet, and there’s still one key aspect Samsung wants to get right. Koh continued to say that the Galaxy S range would only go Edge-only if it, “can provide consumers a differentiated user experience through software and user-friendly functions.”
Samsung’s struggled to make full use of the curved screen so far, outside of it looking stunning, but recent updates for Android 6.0 have increased its usefulness. This hasn’t stopped people flocking to the Galaxy S7 Edge over the standard flat Galaxy S7, and for the pair to surpass the Apple iPhone in popularity.
Beyond its curved edge screens, Samsung is also working on flexible displays, and rumors are we’ll see the first examples of these bendy phones early next year.
