Something that doesn't happen nearly enough (despite it happening twice in a very recent period of time), is an official tease. OnePlus is teasing their upcoming One device more than enough for everyone, I imagine, but the other companies out there just don't do it enough. They let us stew in our own contemplation and anticipation, as they wait until the official reveal date to show us anything.
And controlled leaks don't count. Yes, they happen, but that's not really what I'm talking about. When I'm talking about a tease from a company, to drug up excitement for what they have coming down the pipe, I'm talking about what OnePlus has been doing with their upcoming handset . . . before they started unveiling actual specifications. Giving very, very few details, or any details at all, and just trying to paint this abstract picture of what consumers should expect.
Last year, before the Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit were officially unveiled, a Samsung executive "confirmed" that Samsung-branded wearables were coming alongside the Galaxy S5. That's a tease, sure, but it's also just blatantly saying what's coming, without actually unveiling anything. I know that that's enough to get people excited --even I was looking forward to see what Samsung had in store for us, but I think it also kind of ruins the surprise.
The Gear Fit was genuinely surprising, though. So, kudos for that.
Just look at HTC this morning. Symon Whitehorn is walking the fence when he teases an optical zoom lens in an upcoming device. Sure, we know exactly what the feature is, but we have no idea how it's going to get delivered to us in 12 to 18 months. Will we see it in a One M8 max? What about a One M8 mini? Or is this going to be a completely new devices?
Yoon Han-kil, SVP of Samsung's product strategy group, takes the cake, though. He might win all the cakes, because his tease for one of Samsung's biggest (no pun intended) flagships hits the perfect mark. Late last night, my fellow Editor Alex reported on the next Galaxy Note device, which Han-kil was talking about with Reuters. According to Han-kil, the new Galaxy Note is going to feature a "new form factor."
What!?
How do you not get immediately excited about that? Let's face it, Samsung could have taken the easy way out and just made a bigger Galaxy S5, with that same dimpled back cover and a huge display, and called it a day. With the S Pen included, a bigger display makes sense and actually works, so why not just go that route?
If Samsung really is going with a new form factor for the next Galaxy Note, that's worth paying attention to, just because it gets the imagination going. What on earth could that mean? We won't see a return to flip phones, will we? (No, we won't.) I wonder if it could mean really flexible displays. Maybe the new Galaxy Note will be a natural evolution, with better specifications and technology, from the Galaxy Round. But, you know, actually worthwhile.
So, what do you think the new Galaxy Note will look like? What kind of form factor do you think Samsung will incorporate with their newest big device? Do you think it might really change all that much? Let me know!
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