37% Of People Wish This Discontinued Android Phone Would Make A Comeback
Over the years, Google's Android operating system has evolved to become a stable, mature platform that millions of smartphone users rely on and depend on. The past 14 years have also witnessed Android play host to several iconic smartphones. A few examples of such devices include the T-Mobile G1 from 2008 (the first ever Android smartphone), the Google Nexus One (2010), and the first generations of Samsung's Galaxy Note and Galaxy S series. It is safe to assume that most of the aforementioned smartphones have a sizable fan following. In fact, there is a good chance that many of these smartphones may still find a good number of takers if their respective manufacturers decide to revive these once iconic devices/series.
However, given the sheer number of smartphones that have used Android over the years, it is challenging for even the ardent Android fan to home in on a single favorite among a sea of worthy contenders. It was only fair on our part, therefore, to think that running a small poll should help clear things. And that's precisely what we did. To find the pulse of the average Android consumer, we asked 592 people in the U.S. to choose the Android smartphone that they really wished would make a comeback in 2022.
The smartphones on this list include some of the most iconic devices to have run Android. While we're sure that a majority of SlashGear readers will concur with the poll results, some inclusions in the list might come across as unexpected. However, given the regional nature of the poll (with respondents chiefly from the U.S.), the clear American bias wasn't unexpected.
Samsung shouldn't have killed the Galaxy Note
By now, almost everyone in the Android camp is aware that the Samsung Galaxy Note brand lineup is all but dead. Samsung's recent efforts indicate that most Galaxy Note-centric features have been integrated into the company's Galaxy S Ultra series. This is likely to be the case in 2023 as well when Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
However, no matter what Samsung thinks about the Galaxy Note lineup, a sizable number of users continue to believe that Samsung shouldn't have canned the Galaxy Note at all. The majority of respondents in our poll (37.33%) wished that Samsung would bring back the Galaxy Note series in the future.
The second smartphone series that most people are hoping would come back happens to be LG's G-series which managed to garner 22.80% of the votes. Android enthusiasts will recall iconic handsets from the LG G series to phones like the LG G2, G3, G4, and the rest of the successors — culminating with the LG G8 series in 2019. However, with LG winding down its smartphone business in 2021, the chances of the LG G series making a comeback look bleak.
The unexpected entrants
A rather surprising entry into this list — with 14.02% of the votes — happens to be the Android-powered BlackBerry smartphone lineup called the BlackBerry Key. The first of the BlackBerry Key smartphones — known for their full-fledged physical QWERTY keyboard — was launched in 2017. This original device went by the name BlackBerry KeyOne. A year later, BlackBerry followed that up with the launch of a successor called the BlackBerry Key2. While both these devices did evoke sizable interest at the time of their announcements, these TCL-made handsets did not exactly set the sales charts on fire. That, however, hasn't stopped a good percentage of our voters from opining that the BlackBerry Key series deserves a comeback.
With 13.85% of the votes, the Samsung-made Galaxy Nexus was another surprising entrant to our list. Originally launched in 2011, this smartphone was unique in the fact that it ran a stock version of Android as opposed to Samsung's TouchWiz UI. The excellent spec sheet (for the time), and the design aspects of the device made it a favorite among enthusiasts a decade ago.
Another handset a sizable number of respondents thought deserves a comeback is the HTC One. This phone managed to garner 11.99% of the votes. The first HTC One was released way back in 2013, and several iterations appeared thereafter.
Given that three of the brands on the list do not even make Android smartphones anymore (HTC's presence in the smartphone space is negligible, to say the least), there is very little chance of most of these devices ever making a comeback. Theoretically, though, Samsung could make the Note Series and a Galaxy Nexus revival happen should there be sizable public demand.