It looks like Samsung is gearing for a comeback with the Galaxy Note 8 quick after the disaster that is the Galaxy Note 7.
Everyone lay witness to the huge crash that Samsung experienced with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, which forced the company to do a complete recall of all units of the said model. Despite this huge failure on Samsung’s part, however, The Guardian reports that Samsung continues to lead in the global smartphone market in the third quarter of this year, still at 20 percent of the market share right before tight contender Apple.
But Samsung knows it has to shape up with the upcoming Galaxy S8, S8 Plus, and Note 8 to keep its lead in the race. With Apple’s not-so-popular iPhone 7, the playing field could still be quite even for the two smartphone giants.
Full-page ad from Samsung: “We are truly sorry” about the Galaxy Note7. pic.twitter.com/ADAM0A0TOP
— scott budman (@scottbudman) November 7, 2016
The upcoming Galaxy S8, S8 Plus, and Note 8 units have sparked yet another speculation chain all over the internet because everyone knows its only a matter of time before Samsung releases an update to its smartphone and phablet lines. But before October ended, a Samsung representative spoke with CIO.
“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.”
But everyone is convinced that Samsung is not yet ready to give up on the Note line. In fact, Samsung did confirm to Reuters in an official statement that customers who once owned a Galaxy Note 7 in South Korea will be able to get their hands on a Galaxy S8 or Note 8 update through an upgrade program when these models come out next year. This upgrade program will let the previous Galaxy Note 7 users to purchase Galaxy S8 or Note 8 next year for a half the price.
As of date, the said upgrade program was only confirmed for South Korean owners and international patrons are hoping that Samsung will extend to them a similar upgrade program when the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 hits the market.
“In addition to offering refunds or exchanges for a Galaxy S7 smartphone, Samsung has already offered financial incentives amounting to 100,000 won ($88.39) to affected customers in South Korea. Users in the upgrade program will need to pay only half the price of a Galaxy S7 device, rather than the full amount, before exchanging to the S8 or the Note 8,” Samsung said.
Surely, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 are already in development. But Tech Times confirms this news via Evan Blass, a known mobile reporter who has a knack for reporting unannounced smartphone news.
In a recent tweet, Blass confirmed that the upcoming Galaxy S8 models will ship as SM-G950 and SM-G955.
Samsung Galaxy S8 models are indeed skipping SM-G94* model numbers, will ship as SM-G950 & SM-G955. Know what else is in the works? SM-N950.
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) November 9, 2016
We are highly certain that SM-N950 is the model number for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 8 since we know that the Note 7’s model number was SM-930, Galaxy Note 5 was SM-920, Galaxy Note 4 was SM-N910, and Galaxy Note 3 was SM-900.
#Samsung ‘s #GalaxyNote not dead after all, Note 8 coming next year, reports James Walker. ? https://t.co/C1SaLtKz6t pic.twitter.com/WtT6jZJf4z
— QuickTechPro (@QuickTechPro) November 13, 2016
A previous Inquisitr report cited Patrick Moorhead, chief analyst of Moor Insights & Strategy, who believes that the release of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 could be as early as January 2017.
“I think come January or March — January at CES or March at Mobile World Congress — they’ll come out with a Note 8. But it will be their high-end phone that not only goes after high-end consumers but enterprise as well.”
Surely, if Samsung has already come out with an upgrade program that involves the newer Galaxy S8 and Note 8, it’s only a matter of time before these new units get official release. With both the Note line having caught up with Samsung’s S line, Vine Report believes that the release of the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus will be alongside the release of the Note 8.
[Featured Image by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]