Releasing “lite” versions of pricey devices is a tried and tested way of getting the attention of users who may otherwise never have any interest in the premium devices a brand offers due to their pricing.
For the longest time ever, Samsung has led the way in doing this with a tradition that goes all the way back. In fact, Kenya has been on its radar with an exclusive premiere of a device a few years back.
How those particular “lite” versions get named usually varies. Some get slapped with the obvious Lite branding. Others get ridiculous monikers like “Ace” or “Neo” just to keep the association with the premium lineup but mostly having nothing but the name in common. This is to be expected, though, since there is an entire “mini”/”compact” lineup that is expected to take care of this.
The whole existence of the “lite” variant of a flagship device has been in contention since day 1 as those who go out of their way to splurge on the premium models feel that their purchases are being watered down by the lite variants.
For those that spent money in the neighbourhood of the Kshs 100,000 asking price that Samsung’s 2019 premium smartphones are going for, that feeling, if it exists, may be comimg soon.
Sammobile is reporting the possibility of lite versions of the Samsung Galaxy S10 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 making their way to the market before the year ends.
While we may understand where the need for a Galaxy Note 10 “Lite” comes from (S Pen and all), it is especially hard coming to terms with the possible existence of a Galaxy S10 Lite given that Samsung already offers the Galaxy S10e as the “mini” Galaxy S series smartphone that we asked for for years (Samsung used to deliver a very watered down “mini” version that was hardly identical, spec-wise, to its flagship sibling).
The last time there was a “watered-down” version of the Galaxy Note was over 5 and a half years ago when the Galaxy Note 3 Neo was made official.
New variants of existing flagship devices have the effect of not only increasing sales numbers (probably an indicator of Samsung’s struggles with the S10 and Note 10 lineups) but also renewing interest as we exit one smartphone release season for another in early 2020.
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