Samsung Galaxy S II
Alright, we've just laid eyes on some internal Samsung documents and can bring you the official names and specs of the successors to the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab.
Context & Ripple Effects
The day before this leak, pocketnow published a full specs dump for the Galaxy S 2 alongside HTC's Desire successors, and Engadget's internal-document scoop now confirms the naming on Samsung's side — this is the pre-Mobile World Congress choreography playing out across rival camps. The phone successor lands from strength; the tablet does not: Samsung has admitted it exaggerated consumer sales of the original Galaxy Tab, with reported return rates around 16 percent as of early February.
That backdrop explains why the second internal document matters as much as the first — the Tab successor is Samsung's answer to a product that underperformed its own targets, and Pocket-lint sources have separately pointed to a thinner, lighter 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet debuting at Mobile World Congress (unconfirmed). Korea Herald reporting also ties the reveal to Samsung's new Super PLS display technology, keeping components in the announcement.
First-order effects
- Samsung enters Mobile World Congress with an officially named Galaxy S II flagship, converting a week of leaks into controlled messaging ahead of launch.
- The Galaxy Tab successor is now tasked with repairing a franchise that saw double-digit return rates and admitted sales shortfalls within weeks of its debut.
Second-order effects
- HTC, whose Desire HD2 and Desire 2 specs surfaced in the same leak cycle, is pushed into a head-to-head spec race at MWC rather than a staggered release calendar.
- Carriers and retailers get a refreshed Galaxy S II pitch for the spring upgrade season while the original Tab's weak sell-through pressures pricing and channel inventory decisions.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, Android competition consolidates into an annual flagship-cadence arms race where Samsung pairs each device generation with in-house component advances like Super PLS displays, deepening its vertically integrated cost advantage.
The trend: Android flagships are settling into a yearly spec-refresh rhythm set by Samsung and HTC, with component technology — not just software — as the differentiator.