The Samsung Galaxy S10 could have a possible name change and feature a 7nm Snapdragon 855 at the helm of affairs

The Samsung Galaxy S9 is still fresh from the oven and has most of the tech world gunning for it, even if it seems to be more of an iterative release over the Galaxy S8. While the release of the Galaxy S9 is still being celebrated, rumor mills have already started churning out stories about the purported successor to the Galaxy S9 — and from what we are hearing, it might not be the Galaxy S10.

Rumors have been doing the rounds for quite sometime about a potential name change to Samsung's flagship Galaxy S series. A plausible name was the Galaxy X, probably in resonance with the iPhone X. While that is just a stage whisper at the moment, Samsung's mobile head DJ Koh's somewhat ratified it. When asked about the possibility of a change in naming for the upcoming Galaxy S flagship in 2019, Koh said that the Galaxy brand will remain but the company has been thinking "whether we need to maintain the S moniker or the numbering system". 

Therefore, while the next Samsung flagship will still be a Galaxy, it is to be seen whether it will be an S, a number, or an X. In all likelihood, Samsung would not want to continue the numbering scheme beyond a certain point lest it starts sounding awkward — any takers for a Galaxy S14?

Not just the branding, the upcoming Galaxy could also feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon (SD) 855 built on TSMC's 7nm FinFET fabrication. The unveiling of the Qualcomm X24 LTE modem (the first Cat. 20 LTE modem with 2 Gbps theoretical download speeds built on a 7nm FinFET process) has fueled hype that it might make its way into the SD 855. While Qualcomm is yet to talk anything about the SD 855, leave alone its fabrication, a Qualcomm contractor's employee has revealed that the testing of the SD 855 is currently underway and the X24 modem might land up in it. Qualcomm has moved from Samsung Foundry, that traditionally manufactured the Snapdragon SoCs, to TSMC as the latter has already started work on the 7nm process. Samsung Foundry could likely make a better 7nm process down the line but for now, it is TSMC that has the edge. 

At this point, these reports are just speculation and anecdotal at best. We still have a lot of time to fully savor the newly launched Galaxy S9 before delving into grapevine about upcoming iterations. However, one very apparent thing is that Samsung would not be resting on its laurels and the Galaxy S9 might very well be the calm before the storm.

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