Even though Galaxy Note 7 came to unfortunate end, Samsung has confirmed that it would be releasing Galaxy Note 8 this year.
The Note 7 that was launched with much hype in August 2016 was discontinued in October as several users around the world complained of its explosions. On Jan. 23, Samsung officially announced that the two kinds of faulty batteries manufactured by Samsung SDI and Amperex technology caused the Galaxy Note 7 handsets to explode.
The Galaxy Note 7 discontinuation led to the birth of rumors that Samsung would be axing Galaxy Note series. This meant that Samsung won't be releasing Galaxy Note 8 this year. However, Koh Dong-jin, President of Mobile at Samsung Electronics has confirmed that Galaxy Note 8 would be arriving this year.
In an interview to CNET, Koh said, "I will bring back a better, safer and very innovative Note 8." He added that during the investigation of Note 7 explosion issue, the company came to know that there are plenty of loyal fans of Galaxy Note series. Tim Baxter, Samsung US President also stated that a larger number of Galaxy Note 4 and Note 5 owners are waiting to see an upgraded Note phablet.
Even though Samsung has managed to recall 96 percent of Galaxy Note 7 units from Korea, U.S and European nations, there are some customers who are still using the dangerous phablet. Hence, in order to render it useless, Samsung has worked with its carrier partners to release a software update that limits battery charging to 60 percent, BGR reported.
Samsung's investigation on Galaxy Note 7 explosions was not just about finding the root cause but also it created an 8-point battery safety check system to avoid battery explosions in future devices. The new safety check system includes various kinds of tests such as durability test, visual examination, x-ray test and more.
As far as Galaxy Note 8 release date is concerned, Samsung is likely to follow its usual trend of announcing Note series phone in the second half of the year. It is expected to launch in August just before the unveiling of 2017 iPhones in September.
Here is a news report on Galaxy Note 8's release this year: