Earlier today hordes of tech websites (including us) jumped on a new teaser video released from Samsung that gave a mysterious and intriguing glimpse of what might have been, or what we had maybe hoped would be, the next generation Galaxy S device. Although it might seem a little early to get the ball rolling on the (what we could assume would be) the Galaxy S5, Samsung is no stranger to releasing many phones, and releasing them often. In order to stay on top of the competition, sometimes you have to throw in a surprise or two. So when it comes to jumping the gun and assuming that such a video was a teaser for a Galaxy S5, I couldn't really blame any of the websites for assuming so. We are talking about Samsung, after all.
However, as it turns out the video is more than likely not the Galaxy S5, but rather the Galaxy J, a device that has thus far been exclusive to Japan and recently been certified for sale in Taiwan. Given that this teaser video was released from Samsung Taiwan, and also given that at some point in the video the model number for the Galaxy J was seen on the device used in the teaser, most speculation that rushed to guessing that the advertisement was for the Galaxy S5 were hushed and corrected - I know I'm not expecting anything big from Samsung to come to this part of the world anytime soon, especially not in two days' time (which the video subtly suggested using a Galaxy Gear smartwatch during the teaser). I will say that this short advertisement did get me thinking, though, and I think that this teaser video could also be giving us something to think about in regards to the Galaxy S 5.
The teaser not only boasted about whatever product it was talking about to be "simple" and "elegant", but it also showed off some odd angles of the device that resembled brushed metal on the back housing. What do I take away from this? Probably a lot more than I should, but I have to admit that it did make me think that the next generation Galaxy device would finally be the device that Samsung decides to shed its iconic plastic exterior in favor of a more chic metal appearance. That would be pretty cool.
I mean, I suppose it depends on how you look at it. Personally, I think it couldn't hurt Samsung to try using metal housing given how often it has been brought up over the past few years. It's interesting to see how big of a deal housing material has become, because before the iPhone got all fancy and started using glass I don't remember there ever being an issue with using plastic housing. Probably because that's what most phones used anyway. But I can see where if you're trying to sell a phone as a "premium" flagship device, you want the entire thing to be premium - body and all. Still, there are people out there that do prefer plastic to aluminum, which also makes me wonder whether Samsung will pull an Apple and offer two different types of Galaxy S devices.
As I mentioned before, Samsung is no stranger to being a loose cannon about releasing devices, so it really wouldn't surprise me if releasing two different types of Galaxy S devices was the route they decided to take. Even Apple did something almost identical to the situation by releasing the iPhone 5c alongside the 5s in order to please the people who wanted a "cheaper" iPhone, or perhaps just an iPhone with more colors. Whatever the reason they decided to do it, it all boils down to the fact that Apple released an iPhone made out of aluminum, which is considered more "premium", and one with a purely polycarbonate casing. People had both options to choose from. And, should Samsung decide to take a similar route by releasing two Galaxy S devices (one with metal housing and one with plastic) I honestly couldn't hold it against them if they did. I'm sure a lot of people will be quick to point fingers and yell at them for copying Apple's genius idea of offering two different types of housing, but in the end all it would be doing is benefiting the consumer by pleasing both the angry mob of people who want a Galaxy device with more premium housing and keeping those who have supported Samsung thus far with their plastic preference. Everybody's happy.
As for being simple and elegant, I'm sure it doesn't mean much here other than looking good on the advertisement, but I do kind of hope Samsung tones TouchWiz down a notch. I'm not saying all of TouchWiz is bad, but it could use a little tweaking here and there to keep it fresh and interesting. Given the recent movement towards flat and minimalistic when it comes to smartphone software design, it wouldn't exactly surprise me if I found out that Samsung was planning on taking a similar turn with an update to TouchWiz. If they're going to update their housing, it would seem like a good idea to update their software a bit as well. Since we didn't see a huge difference aside from specs from the Galaxy S III to the Galaxy S4, I have a sneaking suspicion that we're in for something good when it comes to the next generation Galaxy S device. At least, that's just my hope at this point.
So now that I've lit the rumor campfire, what are your theories, readers? Do you think the advertisement seen earlier has any influence on what we can expect to see from the Galaxy S5, or do you think that it has absolutely no relvance on anything at this point other than what is presumably another Galaxy J release? Do you hope to see two different variants of the next generation Galaxy device? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Image via CNet
