Samsung confirms Galaxy Note 20, Fold 2 launch later this year

Even as most of the smartphone companies have deferred their launches, Samsung's schedule for the next flagships seems to be unperturbed. The company in its quarterly earnings report confirmed it will launch next generation Note and Fold phones in the second quarter. Samsung is expected to launch Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Fold 2 later this year.

"The Company will continue to offer differentiated products in the premium segment with the launch of new foldable and Note models. The Company also plans to enhance product competitiveness by expanding 5G adoption to mass-market smartphones and improve operational efficiency across all areas throughout R&D, production, supply, channel and marketing," said Samsung in its report.

Samsung and other smartphone companies are betting big on the 5G wave which had been predicted to go mainstream this year. Qualcomm in its earnings report hasn't changed projections for the shipments of 5G phones.

For Samsung, the company may have gained some confidence on the commercial success of Galaxy S20 Ultra, its flagship phone for the early part of the year.

"Due to the impact of COVID-19, overall market demand fell significantly QoQ and the Company's smartphone shipments also declined in the first quarter. However, the Company maintained sound profitability by improving the product mix, increasing the sales portion of 5G models and using marketing expenses efficiently during the period. In particular, the ASP of flagship smartphones increased compared to last year on the back of higher-than-expected share of Galaxy S20 Ultra sales as well as solid sales of the Galaxy Z Flip," noted Samsung in its report.

Rival Apple is also expected to launch iPhone 12 series later this year. There have been reports Apple is mulling over delaying the launch by up to three months. This, however, will depend upon how the Covid-19 situation improves in the coming weeks.