South Korean OEM Samsung Electronics confirmed on Monday, July 10, that it will not roll out more Galaxy Note FE handsets in its home country despite the product’s popularity. For the unfamiliar, Galaxy Note FE or Fan Edition is the refurbished version of the defunct Note 7 phablet. The Note FE was released only last week in South Korea and found favor with consumers.
Galaxy Note FE global launch?
A Samsung official was quoted saying to the publication The Investor, that the OEM has “no plans to roll out more Note FE phones in Korea.” This decision was taken as the company plans to retail only 400,000 units of the Note FE.
Although plans for the refurbished phablet’s global launch are yet to be decided, sources familiar with the matter have stated to The Investor that the smartphone can get an international launch in the later part of July.
Since the launch of Galaxy Note FE on July 7, the mobile subscriber numbers have risen from an average of 15,000 in recent weeks to 24,000 a day. Although the telecom carriers in South Korea have not revealed sales figures of the refurbished handset, industry experts are of the view that most consumers are buying the phablet as it is the latest Samsung phone in the market.
It seems that the Blue Coral and Blue Onyx are the two most popular colors of the phablet as they are selling out fast from the shops.
According to an official belonging to a certain telecom company, the market is getting a boost courtesy the release of the Note FE. The refurbished phablet comes with the lethal combination of an affordable price tag along with high-end features, which is making the product an instant hit with the consumers. The device has been priced at 699,600 won, which converts to $608, which is almost 20 percent cheaper than the price of the original Note 7.
Features and specs
Considering that the Note Fan Edition is the refurbished version of the Note 7, it comes with almost all the same features and specs that were incorporated in the original phablet. However, Samsung is being excessively cautious which is why it downgraded the battery capacity from 3,500 mAh to 3,200 mAh.
There has been a slight upgrade in terms of the processor as well and the Note FE for global markets may be powered by a Snapdragon 821 chipset compared to the Snapdragon 820 that fueled the Galaxy Note 7. The refurbished handset also offers Bixby support like the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. However, it does not have a dedicated button for the AI assistant.
