The unprecedented Galaxy Note 7 recall might continue to hurt Samsung even after all the faulty units are replaced, and analysts believe that Samsung could do something totally unexpected to escape the Galaxy Note 7.
Rather than pouring resources into promoting the safety of the phablet and hoping to make up lost sales, Samsung could unveil and launch the Galaxy S8 ahead of time. It appears the company is already testing the next-gen Galaxy S device as we speak.
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“Smartphone demands have polarized: advanced and emerging markets, and premium and budget phones,” KB Investment & Securities analyst Kim Sang-pyo told The Korea Herald. “If Samsung’s flagship smartphone launch is delayed to the end of the first quarter of next year, the profitability of the mobile business division could be worsened next year.”
“Regardless of the sales resumption, an earlier launch of a new quality flagship model seems to be the most realistic solution to dealing with the current recall crisis,” he said.
Mirae Asset Securities also said that Samsung could reduce the impact of the recall by launching the next flagship sooner.
Samsung, meanwhile, is not going to make any announcements anytime soon. The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 were both unveiled in the first quarter, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
The Herald also notes that Samsung has started securing curved displays for the Galaxy S8, saying that it’s highly likely that Samsung will ditch flat-screen versions of the phone.
Interestingly, SamMobile has learned the model numbers of the upcoming Galaxy S8 models, suggesting Samsung is working on at least two Galaxy S8 versions. These are SM-G950 and SMG-G55. The internal code names for the devices are Dream and Dream 2, respectively. Samsung is apparently skipping the SM-G940 model name that should follow the Galaxy S6 (SM-G930) because the number 4 is associated with bad luck in Korea.
