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Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Release Date: Earliest Launch Could Be At CES 2017 In January, Analyst Says

By Venus Montalbo
Published on: 09:40 PST, Oct 30, 2016

Recently, Samsung seemed to have hinted that the Galaxy Note 8 release will happen soon. This is amidst reports of the possible termination of the Note series after the highly-talked about battery fiasco of its latest phablet.

A statement from Samsung on October 24 announced an upgrade program where customers who exchanged their Note 7 with either a Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge can trade it up for a Samsung Galaxy S8 or Note 8 phone when it arrives next year. The mere mention of Note 8 as an option naturally led to assumptions that the Korean tech titan will indeed release a new device for its popular phablet line. Quickly, these Note 8 speculations became the subject of several news reports posted by various publications including Reuters.

Learn more about the exchange program by watching the video below.

However, as a response to these posts about the Note 8 release, a Samsung spokesperson was quoted by tech website CIO saying the following statement, which essentially did not confirm a new Note model.

“As for the reports on the exchange program in Korea, that offering refers to the availability of S8 in that market and is regionally specific. Samsung has not officially communicated any information about a new Note lineup, so any reports referring to a new Note device are purely speculation and are not in reference to any communications from Samsung on a future Note.”

Even though there is still no official validation about the Galaxy Note 8 release from Samsung, opinions from industry leaders and analysts are one to say that a new Note smartphone will arrive in 2017. For instance, CIO cited the president and chief analyst of Moor Insights & Strategy who believes that the Galaxy Note will not be discontinued.

“I don’t see them dropping the Note brand,” Patrick Moorhead said.

[Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]

Furthermore, those eager to hear about the initial release date murmurs of Samsung Galaxy Note 8 should know that Moorhead’s statement below suggested a possible early 2017 unveiling for the phablet.

“I think come January or March — January at CES or March at Mobile World Congress — they’ll come out with a Note 8.”

The analyst also shared his insights about the feasible changes and features we could see upon the Galaxy Note 8’s release. “It will look different, it may be a different color, they might put a different industrial type of coating on it,” Moorhead said.

“But it will be their high-end phone that not only goes after high-end consumers but enterprise as well.”

Moreover, financial industry news website ValueWalk shared potential display specs of the Galaxy Note 8, noting that it could be the company’s first mobile device to be equipped with a 4K display, the same screen resolution rumored for Samsung’s anticipated 2017 flagship model, the Galaxy S8. Also, the distinctive feature of the Note brand, the stylus called S-Pen, is expected to come with a major redesign and significant improvements.

As tech pundits continue to speculate about the possible release and specs of Samsung Galaxy Note 8, internet users are quick to make some humorous quips about the anticipated 2017 phablet. Of course, these jokes and witticisms are in reference to the exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7, the story that could easily top the list of biggest technology news this 2016.

Here are a few Twitter posts talking about the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.

On a serious note, even though its brand has been tainted by the Galaxy Note 7 blasting battery issues, Samsung has still managed to keep the top spot in the smartphone market worldwide in the third quarter, having a 20 percent market share, according to a report from The Guardian.

“Samsung’s market dominance in the third quarter was unchallenged in the short term even with this high-profile Galaxy Note 7 recall, but the longer term impact on the Samsung brand remains to be seen,” according to IDC analyst Melissa Chau.

The report also cited Strategy Analytics’ report sharing that the Korean conglomerate has sold more than 75 million smartphones in a total market of 375 million units.

[Featured Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]

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