Samsung's Note 10 Can Beat Galaxy S10 With Three Features - Forbes

With the release of Samsung’s Galaxy S10, it’s hard not to feel like the smartphone industry is tinkering at the edges of improvement.

There seems to be less and less upgrade room in display sharpness, speed, design and storage every year. That’s clear with every launch, but also with every rumour of future launches, including the upcoming Note 10.

A 4K HDR display, 5G (if it’s the same as 4G, expect 5G rollout to be slow, patchy and incomplete) and improved chipset efficiency are all rumoured to be in the Note 10. But since specifications can be matched by almost every other smartphone maker, and there’s so little to upgrade, what can Samsung do to improve on the Galaxy S10?

Meaningful promotions

The good news for buyers is that price has become a key battle ground for smartphone manufacturers in recent years. Part of that is to do with stalling sales and people holding on to their devices for longer, so OEMs are trying to tempt new customers with price reductions and cheaper models like the iPhone XR or Galaxy S10e.

It’d be good to see a cheaper Note 10e, but, more importantly, a meaningful sales promotion. You can get up to $550 in trade-in value directly from Samsung if you handover the latest iPhone, which is good but also unrealistic. Instead, Samsung should consider bringing back its ‘Test Drive’ promotion that let iPhone owners trial the latest Samsung handsets for a month for free.

Samsung should extend the trade-in deals too by letting customers trade in multiple old devices for coupons or more money off - similar to how shops like CeX operate. Customers will be more than happy to rid their cluttered homes of old, unused devices - especially if that amounts to (small) discounts on shiny new tech.

Comprehensive repair service

Thanks to the determination of the Right To Repair movement, Samsung and Apple are beginning to soften their stance on fixing and repairing devices. Samsung is opening more same-day repair shops around the US, whilst Apple isn’t turning away customers who have made small repairs themselves.

But there’s more to be done, and if Samsung wants to restart the conversation with phone buyers who are opting to stick with their phones for longer, then it should consider making inroads into the repair community. That means official repair advice, demos, kits and dropping the high price of replacement parts (a Note 9 replacement screen will cost $239 out of warranty).

Affordable foldable option

Samsung is reportedly working on a second and third foldable phone, one of which may be launched later this year. It would make sense to tie this device to the Note range, since the foldable phone concept is largely centered around productivity - as is the Note series. A more accomplished - and cheaper - foldable Note would be a good way to bring in fresh customers because it’s, well, new ‘must have’ technology.

Also, a bonus of becoming repair friendly would be to solve the major issue of foldable displays not being very durable.

A foldable, easily repaired Note 10 with huge trade-in deals (for all of your old tech, not just your last phone) would dovetail with modern consumer trends - which is good for Samsung - but could also kickstart a shift in the industry.

More on Forbes

Motorola's Razr V4 Has One Advantage Over Samsung

Samsung's Galaxy Fold 2 Could Be Released This Year

Motorola Razr V4 Can Beat Samsung's Galaxy Fold With Two Features

New Apple Foldable Phone Details Suggest Different Approach

Apple's Foldable iPhone Can Beat Samsung's Galaxy Fold In Two Ways

Let's block ads! (Why?)