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The Galaxy S8’s launch is officially delayed, and that’s a good thing

Updated Jan 23rd, 2017 9:48AM EST

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Samsung’s next flagship phone will be the Galaxy S8, and the company officially confirmed that it won’t be unveiled as soon as sone might have hoped. However, that’s not a bad thing, and it all has to do with the Galaxy Note 7.

Samsung released the conclusions of its Galaxy Note 7 investigation and vowed that it’ll take several important steps to prevent similar debacles in the future. The company has unveiled a new 8-step battery testing policy that will likely be utilized for the Galaxy S8 as well as all future Galaxy phones.

Ahead of Samsung’s press conference on Monday morning, reports said the Galaxy S8 would be unveiled either in late February at MWC 2017, or in late-March in New York. The same rumors noted the phone is actually expected to hit stores in mid-April, regardless of when it’s launched. In previous years, the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 were announced at MWC and then hit stores in the weeks following the Mobile Congress.

Samsung would not confirm any of these rumors, but the company did say the Galaxy Note 7’s recall has delayed the launch of the Galaxy S8. Furthermore, according to Reuters, Samsung mobile chief DJ Koh said the Galaxy S8 would not be unveiled at MWC, seemingly putting to rest all previous speculations.

Koh did not comment on when the company will announce the handset, however, and he did not mention any release date for it. “The lessons of this [Galaxy Note 7] incident are deeply reflected in our culture and process,” Koh said. “Samsung Electronics will be working hard to regain consumer trust.”

The phone may still be shown off behind closed doors in Barcelona, according to one report from a well-known insider, and prototypes of the phone were also apparently brought to CES 2017 in early January.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.