Following last year’s Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite it was always likely that Samsung would launch a Samsung Galaxy S20 Lite, but we’re only now hearing rumors of it.
According to sources speaking to SamMobile, a new S20 model internally known as the Samsung Galaxy S20 Fan Edition is in development. Apparently it’s unclear whether it will launch under that name or as the Samsung Galaxy S20 Lite, but an S20 Lite is what it’s seemingly set to essentially be in any case.
The sources say that this phone has the model number SM-G780 for global versions and SM-G781 for the US, and this makes it clear that it’s a Galaxy S10 Lite successor, as that phone has the model number SM-G770.
As for what you can expect from the Samsung Galaxy S20 Lite, apparently the global version will be available both with and without 5G, while the US one will only come in a 5G variant.
It’s also apparently likely to have at least 128GB of storage, and to run Android 10 with Samsung’s One UI 2.5 over the top, the latter being so new that no phones have it yet, but which will probably make its debut on the Samsung Galaxy Note 20.
Plenty of power
Nothing much else is known about the Samsung Galaxy S20 Lite yet, but if it follows in the S10 Lite’s footsteps then it’s likely to have the same chipset as the rest of the Galaxy S20 range, namely the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865.
That’s the top-end Android chipset right now, and it could mean the S20 Lite is actually more powerful than the standard S20 outside the US, because as SamMobile notes, Samsung’s main flagships typically have an Exynos chipset rather than a Snapdragon one outside the US, but the S10 Lite came with a Snapdragon everywhere, and this year’s top Exynos chip isn’t as good as the Snapdragon 865.
We don’t know when the Samsung Galaxy S20 Lite might land, or what it might cost, but for reference the Galaxy S20 Lite launched in January, and retailed for $650 / £579 (roughly AU$940). The sources also haven’t heard any word of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Lite, despite there being a Note 10 Lite, but that doesn’t mean one isn’t coming.