not S11, not Fold 2
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) October 17, 2019We've compiled some possible specs based on various rumors, including those from ZDNet Korea, Phone Arena and Galaxy Club.
We don't even need a rumor to know that the Galaxy Note 20 will come with Android 10 to start with and upgrade to Android 11. That's because Android 11 is in beta and isn't ready for prime time.
We are excited to tell you more about Android 11, but now is not the time to celebrate. We are postponing the June 3rd event and beta release. We'll be back with more on Android 11, soon.
— Android Developers (@AndroidDev) May 30, 2020
Furthermore, Google postponed its virtual event for June 3 in response to the protests that began sweeping the US on May 26. The software giant intended to make Android 11 beta available to all Android users, not just developers as it is now -- a crucial step before releasing the final software update.
It's entirely possible that Android 11 will be ready or mostly ready for carriers, but Samsung, which uses a complex software layer over the Android base, typically needs more time than other phone brands to fully test and release new Android versions.
Will the coronavirus postpone Samsung's launch of the Galaxy Note 20? That we don't know, though with global phone shipments expected to drop 14% in 2020, it's entirely possible that Samsung will want to salvage what's left of the year by pushing ahead with its plans.
The annual August unveiling of nearly every Note phone is strategic, timed to predate Apple's fall iPhone launch and set Samsung up for the holiday rush. Apple is rumored to possibly delay its iPhone 12 event as late as October as a result of the coronavirus.
Galaxy Note phones are not for the budget buyer. Or at least that's how the lineup has been since its early days. I'd expect the Note 20 and Note 20 Plus to largely follow last year's pricing structure.
For context, two things changed in the last year to make the Note series more affordable and, Samsung surely hopes, more approachable, too.
The first thing that happened was the standard Note 10 started at a more approachable $950, down from the $1,000 starting price of the Note 9. (Meanwhile, the Note 10 Plus debuted at $1,100.) Samsung didn't give the Note 10 quite as many extras as the Plus, but the sub-$1,000 price made it a better value overall.
Samsung's second decision was to announce the Galaxy Note 10 Lite in January. Never intended for the US market, the phone nevertheless struck me as significant, of evidence that Samsung may be willing to change one or two "rules."
I said:, "Samsung's impulse to create a "Lite" Note completely reverses everything the Note has come to stand for as the brand's best of the best. In making a cheaper, more basic Note, Samsung is also democratizing the Note's most distinct and enduring feature: the digital stylus."
Does that mean Samsung will surprise us with a Galaxy Note 20 Lite? Probably not at this event. But it does mean there's a chance the standard Note 20 could cost right around $950 again. However, with the addition of 5G, which tends to drive costs up, the Note 20's final cost is still uncertain.