Some said it couldn’t be done, but Samsung somehow managed to dust itself off and emerge relatively unscathed from the unmitigated disaster that was the Galaxy Note 7. A public relations nightmare to say the least, Samsung last year was forced to discontinue and recall the Note 7 amid a slew of reports involving the device spontaneously catching fire and — in some cases — exploding and causing bodily harm. While the Note 7 fiasco certainly impacted Samsung’s bottom line, it seemingly hasn’t done much to dissuade consumers from purchasing other Samsung devices.
With the Note 7 saga now firmly in the company’s rear view mirror, Samsung earlier this week introduced the Galaxy Note 8. Featuring a gargantuan 6.3-inch display and some impressive internals, the Note 8 runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat and will be released on September 15.
So while we may have to wait a bit to see how the Note 8 does sales wise, early indications suggest that Samsung has a hit on its hands. According to a report from Mobile Fun, pre-orders for Note 8 accessories are already trending 30% higher than what the Note 7 experienced last year.
The company’s press release reads in part:
After a very successful Note 7 launch last year, Mobile Fun had expected to see a downturn in early pre-orders of Note 8 products, due to the issues surrounding the Note 7. However Mobile Fun have already seen a 30% increase in early orders for Note 8 accessories, pointing to a successful outlook for Samsung’s latest device.
“We didn’t expect to see such large volumes of pre-orders this quickly after all the problems Samsung experienced with the Galaxy Note 7,” said Mike Hart of Mobile Fun. “It seems as though the hardcore Note series fans have stuck with Samsung, which is refreshing to see.”
While we’re admittedly only looking at accessory orders, it stands to reason that strong interest in Note 8 accessories points to impressive demand and interest in the device itself. Incidentally, we also heard from a Best Buy tipster that interest in the Note 8 is actually “way higher than the Galaxy S8…even with the extra cost.” Meanwhile, a tipster over at T-Mobile told us the following: “Far more people asking about this than the Galaxy S8, especially customers who bought the Galaxy Note 7 wanting to know about deals they can use.”
As for Samsung’s own expectations with the device, Samsung mobile chief DJ Koh anticipates that the Note 8 will be the most successful iteration of the Note yet. Interestingly enough, Koh added that Galaxy S8 sales are about 15% higher than Galaxy S7 sales were last year.
