Samsung Galaxy X: Rumored Model Number Might Refer To A Different Type Of Phone


The rumored Samsung Galaxy X has been the subject of much speculation well ahead of its expected release date. Most of these unconfirmed reports suggest that the device will be a foldable, flexible phone, a potentially game-changing selling point for the South Korean company as it competes with Apple in the flagship mobile phone space. And while several Galaxy X rumors have included a possible model number — SM-G88N0 — a new press release from Samsung suggests that that model number belongs to a far more conventional device than the yet-unannounced Galaxy X.

According to a report from Phone Arena, Samsung issued a press release earlier this week that mainly discussed the next-generation LTE-R communications standard, as well as devices that support the new technology. The list of devices included a phone called the SM-G88N0, but instead of being a foldable phone like the Samsung Galaxy X is rumored to be, the device is listed as a “rugged smartphone” for professional users. The phone was also listed as a limited-edition release for South Korean customers, though aside from that, there aren’t any details on what consumers can expect from the upcoming device.

Rugged smartphones, or phones designed to hold up well in rough weather and other harsh circumstances, are nothing new for Samsung, which has released several such devices through the years. Generally, these devices came with slightly lower-end specifications to make up for the added water and dust resistance and durability, but as Mashable noted in its review of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active, that particular rugged phone’s basic specs were almost identical to those of the standard Galaxy S7.

That said, very little is known about the rugged smartphone Samsung was referring to in the press release except for its model number. And while TechRadar believes that such an announcement won’t kill the Samsung Galaxy X rumors just yet, the publication added that it’s now likely that the purported foldable device won’t be getting announced or released as early as many people had been expecting. Instead, the phone might only become official “later in 2018,” some time after next month’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and February’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) expos.

At the moment, there are several ways Samsung could highlight the Galaxy X’s expected selling feature of foldability. Prior to the news of the Samsung Galaxy X’s rumored model number possibly belonging to a completely different phone after all, SlashGear wrote a feature article on Friday showcasing a number of schematics Samsung filed in August of this year. The drawings show the different ways Samsung could make the Galaxy X a foldable device, and while it’s not sure which method the company will go with, SlashGear noted that they mostly have one thing in common — the possibility of making the Galaxy X thicker than the average smartphone.

Share this article: Samsung Galaxy X: Rumored Model Number Might Refer To A Different Type Of Phone
More from Inquisitr