November 21, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics has recently launched a new project under the codename da Vinci to develop the next-generation Galaxy Note, according to reports on Sept. 11.

The project is part of the Korean tech giant’s blueprint for showcasing innovative features in the 10th edition of Note, including an improved S Pen digitizer.

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The detailed specifications of the larger-screen smartphone have not been decided as the project is in the initial stages. On the design front, some industry officials forecast that the next model will look similar to Note 9, which was unveiled in August.

“Samples of some components for Note 10 that we have received from Samsung look like those used in the last model,” an industry source was quoted by local news outlet The Bell as saying. “Similar to the Note 9, both sides of the phone will be curved, and the device will feature the ‘Infinity’ end-to-end display design with no physical home button,” the source added.

Since the first edition’s debut in 2011, the digital pen has been a signature feature of the larger-screen smartphone, often called as the phablet, a portmanteau of phone and tablet.

The latest Note 9 comes fitted with Bluetooth-enabled digital pen for the first time, which has its own battery and works as a remote camera shutter or a presentation remote.

Since the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, caused mainly by faulty batteries in 2016, the project timeline for a new flagship phone development has been extended from six months to a year.

Samsung mobile division CEO Koh Dong-jin, a long-time advocate of the digital pen, said at a media conference in August that “Samsung has a two- to three-year development roadmap for the Note pen.”

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)