We’ve been seeing references to the Galaxy S7 Edge Plus from @evleaks, with the leakster first releasing a message at Twitter about the Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, and S7 Edge Plus (at first, there were three). The leakster has now told us in plain language, however, that “and then there were two” — meaning that one of the models, the Galaxy S7 Edge Plus, is on hold for now.
Evan Blass (aka @evleaks) made the announcement at Twitter, using the words “and then there were two,” with the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge placed below them. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the Galaxy S7 edge Plus has been dropped from the lineup — at least for the MWC 2016 unveil.
It seems as though Evan Blass’s words on the matter are final, that the Galaxy S7 edge Plus could return to the spotlight this Fall with the announcement of the Galaxy Note 6, but I don’t think Blass would’ve stated it in these terms if that were the case. He would’ve said something like, “We’ll see this later,” not “there are only two remaining.” With his words, though, it appears as though Samsung has dropped the Galaxy S7 edge Plus from the lineup with no word on if it will return this Fall. Samsung did announce the Galaxy S6 edge Plus on August 13th in New York City alongside the Galaxy Note 5, and the company could do this again (so we need not speculate the Galaxy S7 Edge Plus may never appear). At the same time, however, Evan Blass has been right on the ball about these things, so the Korean giant must have made a decision within the last week or two to do away with the “Note-sized” smartphone.
The reason behind the end of the Galaxy S7 edge Plus? Smartphone sales are likely the culprit, with the plus-sized phablet not getting the attention Samsung believed it would. At the August 2015 presentation, Samsung reiterated that it was “betting big” on bigger phablets that would allow consumers to be more productive and “get things done” with a wider display. Since Samsung waited until August to sell the S6 edge Plus, it’s likely the case that few individuals cared enough to spend more money to get the phablet size they’d been wanting since the beginning of last year.
Another factor regarding the Galaxy S7 edge Plus concerns Samsung’s evaluation of the device. Samsung never intended the Galaxy S6 edge Plus to be that popular, and the sales numbers have confirmed it. Since sales were lower for it than the Galaxy Note 5, the company has decided to remove the Galaxy S7 edge Plus and opt for the return of the Galaxy Note 5 to places like the UK that didn’t get the Galaxy Note 5 this past year. Perhaps Samsung’s strategy to sell the S6 edge Plus in the UK didn’t turn out so well, either.
For now, take it all with a grain of salt until Samsung’s announcement around MWC 2016 on February 21st, but we’re looking at only two models, the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, for primetime. We’ll be back to report more on the Galaxy S7 edge Plus if something major breaks.
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