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Galaxy Note Edge Release: What to Expect

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The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge release date is confirmed for later this year though the release date itself remains a complete and utter mystery. With that in mind, we want to set the stage and take a look at what we expect from the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note Edge release date in the United States and in other markets around the world.

Yesterday’s Samsung Unpacked 2014 Episode 2 event produced a number of new products including the Galaxy Note 4, the Gear VR virtual reality headset, Gear S smartwatch, and an interesting Galaxy Note model dubbed Samsung Galaxy Note Edge. The Galaxy Note Edge will join the Galaxy Note 4 on shelves later this year and it will do so with a number of high powered features including a curved display.

Samsung’s brand new Galaxy Note Edge is an odd looking smartphone that is noticeably different than the Galaxy Note 4 that launched alongside it yesterday. That’s because the Galaxy Note Edge comes with a display that is far from ordinary and the first of its kind. Instead of your standard flat screen, the Galaxy Note Edge comes with a screen that wraps around the edge of the smartphone. The feature can be seen in action in the video below.

This is going to be its biggest selling point though it comes equipped with some other likeable features including Quad HD resolution, a 2.7 GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 805 with 3GB of RAM, Android 4.4.4 KitKat with Samsung TouchWiz, 16 Megapixel Rear camera with Optical Image Stabilization, massive battery, and a thin 8.3mm frame. It’s a device that’s worth looking at going forward. Problem is, we still don’t know when the Galaxy Note Edge release date is going to arrive.

While the Galaxy Note 4 release date is confirmed for October, the Galaxy Note Edge release date is far more mysterious and has only been confirmed for later this year. U.S. carriers AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon confirmed the device for arrival though none of them have offered any specific details. While we don’t have all the answers, we do want to help set your expectations.

Here, we take a look at what we expect from the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Note Edge release date.

Galaxy Note Edge Release Date Announcements Soon

It was a little bit strange to see Samsung announce two brand new Galaxy Note smartphones and decline to tag them with specific release dates. Usually, the company offers up a global release date at the very least. While we can’t say for sure why it neglected to offer specific dates, we have a feeling it probably has to do with the iPhone 6 launch that’s coming on September 9th.

We would not be surprised if we saw Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge release details emerge sometime during September, shortly after the arrival of the iPhone 6. Carriers are dependent on Apple for iPhone release date information and there’s a chance that they’re still in the dark regarding the specific release dates for both rumored iPhone 6 models.

Galaxy-Note-Edge-3

So, right now, we expect the Galaxy Note Edge release date announcements, both global and for the U.S., to arrive sometime in the next few weeks as Samsung looks to battle the iPhone 6 this fall. Do not expect to have to wait several months for specific details.

Galaxy Note Edge Release Date Before End of November

We’re expecting the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge release date to get announced sometime in the next few weeks and we’re expecting the release date itself to land sometime before the end of November.

With an iPhone 6 release date rumored in both September and October and with Black Friday signaling the start of the holiday shopping season, we simply cannot see Samsung delaying the Galaxy Note Edge release into the month of December. It’s too close to holidays like Christmas and it would be a death knell for a product like this.

Galaxy-Note-Edge

Instead, we expect Samsung to get this phone out to customers ahead of the holidays, ahead of Black Friday, and we wouldn’t be surprised if the Galaxy Note Edge, like the Galaxy Note 4, arrived sometime in October. November, in our eyes, is the absolute latest.

U.S. Galaxy Note Edge Release Close to Global

Over the years, Samsung has put an emphasis on the United States. That’s of course no surprise given that the U.S. is one of the biggest and most important markets in the world. There’s a reason Samsung hosted a satellite Unpacked 2014 event in New York City. It’s also worth noting Samsung’s comments about this version being a device aimed at the high-end market.

The U.S. is about as high-end of a market as you can get and we have a feeling that it’s going to be one of the key battlegrounds for the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge. This is not a device that’s aimed at emerging markets.

Galaxy-Note-Edge-2

Shortly after the launch event, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon put up Galaxy Note Edge sign up pages. In the past, when we’ve seen huge delays in the United States, carriers have stayed silent. This openness leads us to believe that there will be some emphasis put on the Galaxy Note Edge release both by carriers and by Samsung.

Therefore, we expect the Galaxy Note Edge release date in the United States to fall in and around the initial global release date, whenever that may be. The U.S. is a strategic market and a market that Samsung is concentrating on.

Similar U.S. Release Dates

Samsung Galaxy Note release dates usually come in close proximity of one another. Last year’s Galaxy Note 3 saw U.S. release dates all emerge within a few days of each other. Same for the Galaxy S5. We’re expecting similar for the Galaxy Note 4 and we should see the same with the Galaxy Note Edge.

Carriers don’t want to give the competition any sort of advantage and with the fall shaping up to be a competitive battle between the big four carriers, particularly between Sprint and T-Mobile, we expect carriers to release this device pretty close to each other so as not to give the others any kind of advantage.

No U.S. Cellular Galaxy Note Edge

AT&T confirmed the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge. Sprint confirmed the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge. T-Mobile confirmed the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge. And Verizon confirmed the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge. U.S. Cellular? It confirmed the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 release for October and nothing else.

Galaxy-Note-Edge-1

This leads us to believe that it won’t be carrying a Galaxy Note Edge on its 4G LTE network. If it were going to, why wouldn’t it just announce it right out of the gates like the rest of the pack? U.S. Cellular has been known to pass on some big name devices and not just niche devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge.

For instance, it doesn’t carry the LG G3 or the HTC One M8. So why would it opt to carry a device like the Galaxy Note Edge, a device that’s not only expensive but is risky?

We’d be shocked if it announced a Galaxy Note Edge for arrival.

Galaxy Note Edge Pre-Order

Flagship Android smartphones typically come with a pre-order. It’s a way to draw attention to the phone and it’s a way to lure in customers early. Carriers love both of those things.

As we noted yesterday, Verizon is offering a sign up for those interested in the Galaxy Note Edge release date and the carrier says that those that do sign up will be first to “get product, pre-order and launch details.” So, it looks like we might see Galaxy Note Edge pre-orders at Verizon. This means that we could see Galaxy Note Edge pre-orders at other US. carriers as well.

In fact, we’d expect them to happen sometime in the weeks ahead.

Limited Availability

The Galaxy Note Edge is an intriguing product but it’s also a niche smartphone. Samsung made it clear that the Galaxy Note 4 will be its flagship while the Galaxy Note Edge will serve as an interesting, and expensive, alternative.

Because of this, we don’t expect Samsung’s Galaxy Note Edge production to match that of the Galaxy Note 4. The demand probably won’t warrant it, especially after it announces a price.

Note-4-Design

So, we expect there to be limited availability. In other words, don’t expect every retailer under the sun to offer this smartphone. We expect to see a close Samsung partner like Best Buy offer it up for sale but we probably won’t see this phone sold everywhere.

Galaxy Note Edge Price

Samsung left out the Galaxy Note Edge price from its announcements but we have a pretty good idea about what we can expect from it.

The curved display is not going to cheapen the Galaxy Note Edge price tag. In fact, it’s going to make it more expensive. The Galaxy Note Edge also comes with a number of other powerful specifications that will help to keep the price high. Again, Samsung said all along that this would be a device aimed at the high-end market.

Our guess right now is that Samsung will charge a premium somewhere between $50 and $150 more than the Galaxy Note 4’s expected $299.99 price point. Translation: A price tag, on contract, that could be anywhere from $350 to $450 on-contract. That’s just a guess at this point but to us, $500 seems like it would scare a ton of people away.

At the very least, expect it to be more expensive than the Galaxy Note 4.

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Broad generalities

    09/05/2014 at 4:22 pm

    If you don’t know the date of release then it isn’t confirmed. This is just another Note article with no facts and recycled broad generalities.

  2. Keith Homeyard

    09/06/2014 at 9:20 am

    I’d have liked to know what the small box attached to it is – presumably a charger .

  3. James

    09/07/2014 at 5:23 am

    @Keith: That was the security alarm on the phones at the press event.

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