Samsung Could Scrap Galaxy S Series Naming System

Samsung is considering a different name for the Galaxy S9’s successor. The South Korean tech giant has disclosed that it is thinking of either scrapping the numeric naming system, or the S moniker.

The Investor reported Tuesday that despite announcing that Samsung is slowing down on its hardware releases after the S9, Samsung mobile chief Koh Dong-jin has already teased an important information about its next flagship smartphones.

Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy S9’s successor, which is strongly believed to have the name of Galaxy S10, in early 2019. However, Koh is now saying that they may shy away from the current naming system of its Galaxy S series.

When asked if Samsung is planning to change the name of the next Galaxy S model, Koh answered: “Although Samsung will stick to Galaxy, we have been thinking about whether we need to maintain the S moniker or the numbering system.”

By dropping the S moniker, it would mean that the Galaxy S9 is going to be the final installment of the Galaxy S series. On the other hand, the S series would live on if Samsung were to just drop the numbering system of the flagships launching after the Galaxy S9.

This is actually not the first time that a change in the naming system of Samsung’s Galaxy flagships was brought up. According to TechRadar, previous rumors claimed that instead of naming the S9’s successor as Galaxy S10, the company could go with Galaxy X and follow a yearly dating system for subsequent releases. Hence, the Galaxy S11 could instead launch as Galaxy X (2020).

However, it’s worth noting that the Galaxy X moniker is also being linked to Samsung’s long-rumored foldable phone, which is now expected to make its debut early next year. Could this mean that the Galaxy X will be the successor to the Galaxy S9? If true that would mean the end of the S series and the start of another line that’s banking on foldable displays to attract consumers.

Samsung hasn’t said anything yet about this, so it’s best to remain skeptical. The company, for now, is focused on selling its Galaxy S9 handset. When asked at a press conference about the company’s sales goal for the S9, Koh said he can’t give a definite answer, but he and his colleagues believe that the S9 could do better than last year’s S8.

“I can’t give you definite figures, but we believe they will fare better than the S8, especially on the back of our wide-ranging marketing campaigns, including the trade-in promotion with hefty cash-back offers for customers trading in previous models for the S9,” Koh said.