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The Galaxy Note 10 Lite is coming soon as Samsung's cheaper Galaxy Note

By Joshua Swingle

Published: Oct 11, 2019, 7:28 AM

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Samsung Android

The Galaxy Note 10 Lite is coming soon as Samsung's cheaper Galaxy Note

The Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ were announced a couple of months ago but it turns out Samsung isn’t done with the series. That’s because the company is working on a cheaper third model that now has a name – the Galaxy Note 10 Lite.

The Galaxy Note 10 Lite is probably a mid-range phone

Earlier this year, Samsung launched its ‘e’ branding for cheaper premium models positioned as direct competitors to the likes of the iPhone XR and Huawei P30. The South Korean company is ultimately expected to continue using the moniker next year with the launch of the Galaxy S11e, but this move also suggests the Galaxy Note 10 Lite won’t be the budget flagship people were expecting.

Instead, the latest branding information, which arrives courtesy of SamMobile, can be interpreted as confirmation that Samsung’s cheaper Galaxy Note model will, in fact, arrive as a mid-range smartphone. This strategy means it may well be a spiritual successor to the Galaxy Note 3 Neo which launched in early 2014 but performed poorly on the market. The Galaxy Note 10 Lite name also leads us to believe this phone will arrive in the coming months rather than in early 2020. At first, the upcoming device was expected to debut alongside the Galaxy S11 series in February but Samsung will probably want to capitalize on the Galaxy Note 10 branding while it's fresh.

Launching the phone before Christmas will allow the Seoul-based multinational company to boost sales in the final quarter of the year. Additionally, it’ll let the Galaxy S11 series shine on its own when it arrives in early 2020. After all, announcing a Galaxy Note 10-branded device alongside multiple Galaxy S11 phones is a bit confusing for consumers.

What will the Galaxy Note 10 Lite offer?

Previous reports point towards a Galaxy Note 10 Lite launch in Europe, where it’ll apparently be sold in both black and red. There’s no information on US availability at the moment although a release could be on the cards. Samsung typically focuses on the premium US smartphone market but the phone’s association with the Galaxy Note 10 may push the company to release the device and attempt to boost its market share in the mid-range segment.

In terms of what the smartphone will offer, Samsung may choose to equip the Galaxy Note 10 Lite with a powerful Snapdragon 700-series chipset like the Snapdragon 730 or a weaker Snapdragon 600-series alternative such as the Snapdragon 675. Either way, 6GB of RAM seems likely in addition to 128GB of internal storage.

To keep costs down, the Galaxy Note 10 Lite will probably ditch the curved edge display in favor of a flat panel. It could also replace the punch hole with a notch although this seems pretty unlikely considering the centered display hole is more or less synonymous with the Galaxy Note 10 series right now.

Samsung is also readying a Galaxy S10/S11 Lite

Alongside the cheaper Galaxy Note 10 smartphone, Samsung is reportedly working on another mid-range smartphone based on either the Galaxy S10 or next-gen Galaxy S11. This model remains quite the mystery at the moment but will presumably ship with the ‘Lite’ moniker too.

If it arrives in early 2020 alongside the premium Galaxy S11 models, the Galaxy S11 Lite could compete directly against the likes of the Huawei P40 Lite which, like its predecessors, will probably prove extremely popular among consumers on tighter budgets.

Specifications and other features haven’t leaked but this phone may arrive with a newer Snapdragon 600 or 700-series chipset than the one used inside the Galaxy Note 10 Lite model. Aside from this, the primary differentiating factor will probably be the lack of S Pen support.