14 DAY TRIAL // The Samsung Galaxy Note5 launch left a lot of people disappointed. But it’s not like we didn’t see this coming. With the Galaxy S6, Samsung chose to sacrifice function for factor and ended up losing the much cherished microSD card slot and removable battery.
Interestingly enough, even if people love having these features on board, device manufacturers clearly don’t think these attributes are of such great importance. If we’re to look around to all the flagships that have seen the light of day this year, only the LG G4 sports these two features. Which is odd, given that there’s clearly still a market (some might feel these features are outdated) for them today.
This absence suddenly created a niche in the market, which makes us think of one struggling company that has promised a so-called “hero” product later this year. You’ve probably already guessed that we’re referring to HTC.
The company’s current flagship, the One M9, failed to impress the masses. Part of the blame for this rests on the fact that the One M9 failed to differentiate itself from the One M8, so users didn’t really feel they had to upgrade. Furthermore, the One M9 was overshadowed by sleeker premium devices like the Samsung Galaxy S6 or LG G4.
Could HTC pull off a Note product?
Still, the One M9 features a microSD card slot but has no removable battery. But there’s plenty of room for improvement here. What we’re thinking is that the Taiwanese tech giant might benefit from releasing a Galaxy Note competitor complete with a microSD card slot, removable battery and stylus.
We believe that HTC currently has the expertise to build such a device. Although the company hasn’t unveiled a smartphone with a stylus as part of the bundle (except for the HTC Touch2, maybe), it does offer such an accessory as an option for products like the One Max. So most likely, HTC would know where to start when it comes to pen building.
Apart from the lack of microSD card slot and removable battery, when it comes to the Galaxy Note5, people also tend to complain about the laggy TouchWiz interface (even if Samsung has been fine-tuning it for a while now), too large form factor (although we now live in the era of phablets), and skimpy battery (the Galaxy Note5 has a smaller powerhouse compared to the Galaxy Note 4).
Does it make sense?
Well, HTC’s Android skin Sense certainly gets a lot less hate from folks, so that’s another reason we think an HTC Note might become successful with consumers around the world.
Now that the Nexus 6 got released, everyone complained about its huge form factor of 6 inches, while claiming that the Nexus 5 (5-inch display) was almost perfect. Well, maybe HTC could hit a sweet spot with a display ranging from 5.2 to 5.4 inches.
It would be nice if HTC surprised us and incorporated these ideas into its next-gen “Hero” product. Users are definitely expecting something fresh and new from the company in order to go back to paying good money to purchase its products (the same can be said of Sony), so an HTC (One) Note would certainly make the cut.
In a few days, the IFA 2015 tradeshow will open its gates in Berlin and the company might be present on the grounds with its new “Hero” product. We’re rooting for an HTC Note. What do you think?