Samsung Galaxy Note 8’s possible release in 2017 was seemingly confirmed by a previous statement from the Korean company mentioning the next phablet as an option for an upgrade program for Galaxy Note 7 customers. As for what the phablet could offer, can we expect the Note 8 and the Galaxy S8 –also getting a 2017 release date — to share some specs and features?
Although there were talks about canning the Galaxy Note brand after the Note 7 debacle, the latest Note 7 trading program announced by the company itself triggered more release speculations for the Galaxy Note 8 . A previous report from the Inquisitr explained that through this program, Samsung Galaxy Note 7 owners who have already exchanged their phablet with a Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge will have the option to swap it with a Samsung Galaxy S8 or Note 8 when the tech titan releases them in 2017.
But these Note 8 release grapevines were then followed by a non-committal statement from a Samsung spokesperson downplaying the rumored 2017 phablet’s release, noting that the “company 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’s no official confirmation yet regarding the Samsung Galaxy Note 8’s release, tech experts still believe that the Note brand will not be axed, with one even saying that the Korean tech conglomerate may unveil the next-generation phablet early next year. Analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy said the following.
“I don’t see them dropping the Note brand. I think come January or March — January at CES or March at Mobile World Congress — they’ll come out with a Note 8.”
As for specs and features, the latest assumptions circulating online seem to show that the Galaxy Note 8 may have a 4K display, an AI digital assistant, and an upgraded camera, which are the traits we could also see from Samsung’s 2017 standard flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S8.
The 4K display specs for Samsung’s next-generation handsets continues to remain as a grapevine, but a report from Valuewalk is citing suggestions from analysts that the Galaxy Note 8 will be the company’s first mobile device to showcase a 4K resolution technology. The Samsung Galaxy S8 is also expected to sport a 4K technology and having this feature will significantly improved the VR experience of users.
Moreover, Samsung recently confirmed that the Galaxy S8’s features will include an AI digital assistant and improved camera. And it does not sound impossible for the Galaxy phone maker to also include these kinds of specs and features to the Note 8 phablet. Most likely, Samsung is cooking up new camera functionalities for its upcoming mobile devices since a patent filing from them emerged online showing improved zoom control through new touch gestures. Moreover, latest camera specs for 2017 Galaxy smartphones also suggest that that the rear camera may get a significant advancement through a dual-camera setup, a feature now seen on the iPhone 7 Plus.
Samsung Patent Hints at Dual Camera Setup for Galaxy S8 https://t.co/ZPLmY9hNHG #Samsung #GalaxyS8 pic.twitter.com/FxBQyRHxvW
— Android Beat (@Android_Beat) September 30, 2016
For those curious about the enhanced AI feature that could perchance be included in the Galaxy Note 8, Samsung recently announced that an artificial intelligent digital assistant system based on Viv Labs’ work will be launched for the Samsung Galaxy S8. The latest reports about the Galaxy S8’s AI features revealed that the Siri-like virtual assistant may be named Bixby, and it “would combine conversational language and integration with third-party services to perform tasks, dictate messages, and respond to queries on demand, Digital Trends explained.
All these features, specs and release details circulating online for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 remain unofficial so make sure to take them with a grain of salt. But if Samsung is really coming up with a 2017 phablet, the device must be carefully designed paired with a well thought out marketing strategy for the tech market to immediately overlook the controversies that surrounded their fire-prone Note 7 so they can gain back the consumers’ trust again.
The Inquisitr will continue to keep you updated for more developments about the anticipated 2017 phablet.
[Featured Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]