Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 has gone up in smoke, both figuratively and literally, leaving a huge void in the smartphone market this holiday season. After years of following the same release pattern, Samsung has trained consumers to expect a new Note series smartphone each fall. New Notes always feature the latest and greatest specs, including jaw-dropping Super AMOLED displays and a suite of software features that make use of the S Pen stylus. This year, however, a new Note smartphone is nowhere to be found.

Some smartphone shoppers will turn to Apple’s new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus since there are no new Samsung flagships to be found. Others will opt for Google’s Pixel or Pixel XL, or perhaps for a rival smartphone from another Android phone vendor. But not everyone is willing to bail on Samsung and all of the class-leading features its smartphones offer, so many people are waiting for the next-generation Galaxy S8 to arrive before upgrading to a new handset. Well, we have some bad news… More →