Unless you’ve been living under a digital rock, you probably know that the words Galaxy Note has already become anathema (or a joke or meme) to some people due to the unfortunate battery-catching-on-fire incidents that forced a global recall and stop production order from Samsung. You would think they might consider retiring the Note series because of this, but according to an insiders they will still be releasing a Galaxy Note 8 later this year.
But before they can even start rebuilding their credibility again, Samsung has first to tell people what really went wrong with the Galaxy Note 7, which had so much promise when it was first released. The results of the fire investigation, conducted by a US-based safety organization, will be released by the end of this month, together with the findings of an independent investigation by the Korea Testing Laboratory. This early, the rumor is that it was an electronic hardware design problem and not just a battery issue.
Regardless of how the results will be received by the public, it seems that Samsung will still be releasing the Galaxy Note 8 later this year, a few months after the release of the 2017 flagship, the Galaxy S8 and S8 edge (or so we assume). The flagship devices will be announced in April and if they will be following tradition, the next Note device should be unveiled sometime between August and September. The Galaxy Note 8 is rumored to have ultra-definition VR features, improved stylus functionality, and the new AI assistant codenamed Bixby, which the Galaxy S8 and S8 edge should also have.
Now whether or not the public would still embrace a phablet from Samsung is still unsure at this point. There are still Galaxy Note 7 owners who have not turned over their devices to Samsung, which may mean they like it well enough to risk a battery incident. We can probably gauge the public’s reaction to the upcoming flagships to see if there will still be some Note love later this year.
VIA: Business Korea
