Reports indicate that Samsung is prepping a new line of smartphones called the Galaxy O. Here’s everything we know so far.
Updated on 8-19-2015 by Robert Nazarian: Added in news that the Galaxy O could be focused around Virtual Reality.
‘O’ is for Oculus?
Oculus will be hosting a developer conference called Connect2 from September 23 through September 25. The company is expected to announce the availability of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, but Gene Munster believes that an announcement with Samsung will also take place. Samsung has already partnered with Oculus for the Gear VR, so another collaboration wouldn’t be surprising.
Munster predicts that one of two things will happen: Samsung will launch the Galaxy O line of smartphones, which will be centered around VR, or the company will announce an all-in-one wireless VR headset similar to the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Munster believes the latter is less likely, though. Launching a phone that works with Oculus makes a lot of sense, since the “O” in “Galaxy O” could stand for “Oculus.”
Assuming this report is true, we now know why Samsung didn’t announce a new Gear VR headset for the Galaxy Note 5 during its Unpacked event.
Rumors of an ‘O’ series start
In mid-August, sources of Sam Mobile revealed that Samsung is readying a Galaxy O series. There are two phones already in development with the model numbers of SM-G550 and SM-G600. It’s possible the G550 will be called the Galaxy O5 and the G600 will be the Galaxy O7.
Unfortunately we have no idea what the “O” series will represent. Other than the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note, Samsung already offers the Galaxy A, Galaxy E, Galaxy J, and Galaxy Z. Since there is no rhyme or reason to Samsung’s choice of letters, it’s hard to speculate what the O series will be.
The Galaxy A represents budget-friendly premium devices with metal, and the Galaxy E is an even more affordable version of the Galaxy A. The Galaxy J is considered entry-level.
All of these devices are Android except for the Galaxy Z, which runs the company’s own Tizen OS.
Then there are a bunch of other variants we won’t even mention because it’s unclear if Samsung will continue to produce phones under those names.
One has to wonder what Samsung is thinking here. While most of these models appear in different parts of the world, it’s still confusing for consumers. It’s also difficult for Samsung to support all of these devices with software updates. Why not offer one or two flagships — one mid-level, and one entry-level phone — each year?
Unfortunately we cannot answer that question because Samsung is the kind of company that likes to throw things out there to see what happens. That’s exactly what happened with the Galaxy Note series. The company took a chance on it, and now the majority of phones are well over 5 inches. Maybe the Galaxy O will be the next big thing.
When will we see the Galaxy O? It’s possible that Samsung might unveil it next month at IFA. Stay tuned.
Article originally published on 8-18-2015.
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