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Another Mysterious Samsung Galaxy 'Space' Is Happening: Report

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Another device likely to be labeled the Samsung Galaxy Space is in development but no one’s really sure what that means. Or, better said: what it is. Samsung used the “space” label several times in the past for marketing vastly different things. Not as often as you’d expect from a company whose flagship product family carries a “Galaxy” branding, mind you. Yet perhaps that fear of overdoing the larger-than-life references was precisely why it played things safe.

Better to undercook this angle than risk overdoing it to the point of cheapening your most valuable brand asset. That kind of thinking would at the very least be something Samsung would entertain. Before diluting the Galaxy brand with more etymologically similar monikers.

Which brings us to today, and the Samsung Galaxy Space that now appears to be on its way to the United States. That’s according to a recently processed trademark application centered on that very name which the USPTO published earlier this week. Stateside availability, alone, essentially rules out conventional smartphones. But the surprisingly comprehensive categorization Samsung applied to the filing muddies the rest of the possibilities. So, everything from virtual reality headsets and smartwatches to tablets and TVs is on the table.

Looking back at the things Samsung did end up labeling as Space-something, a new Galaxy Book (S) is perhaps the most likely explanation. Perhaps even as a rebranding of one of the existing, already confirmed ones. VR headsets are another curious possibility due to the fact it’s just been so long since Samsung legitimately tried doing one. But the end of such a humbling year, sales-wise, is hardly the opportune time to be rethinking that inaction. So, we’ll go with the suspected notebook angle.

‘Samsung Galaxy Space’ is shrouded in way more secrecy than the average trademark

Samsung is usually objectively more deliberate in its IP filings. Meaning you can make a fairly educated guess about what any particular term it’s looking to trademark actually denotes. Even when the USPTO’s transparency filings risk to spoil the surprise of upcoming products. To that end, Samsung usually just leaves these legalities super late in a given product roadmap, not unlike this one. As the company’s sheer size still does decently on its own when it comes to enjoying informal safeguards.

In other words, few are brave and motivated enough to try abusing the legal system in a copyright-trolling kind of fashion at its expense. Because Samsung has all the resources it needs to be the more stubborn one for long enough to bankrupt anyone but the largest of rivals. Who are pretty much all above that level of bickering, but not morally; the preference in question is simply an issue of ineffectiveness.

As for the Galaxy Space, its filing date of October 22nd and the urgency the USPTO demonstrated by processing the request mere four days later do imply a market availability being close by. So, let’s not discount the possibility of Samsung doing any more product announcements before the end of the year.