The Galaxy Note 8 likely won’t be released before September, industry sources with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday, as first reported by DigiTimes. Insiders from mobile component suppliers in Taiwan speculate that Samsung’s recent launch of the Galaxy Note FE (Fan Edition) was likely an attempt by the South Korean original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to test consumer response to another addition to the Galaxy Note smartphone lineup that garnered a significant amount of negative publicity last fall due to the high-profile discontinuation of the Galaxy Note 7. Given how the release of a revised version of the ill-fated phablet was as successful as possible, with all 400,000 units made available in Samsung’s home country reportedly being sold out in a matter of days, the Seoul-based phone maker is now presumably confident in the commercial potential of the Galaxy Note 8.
General market expectations and the value of the Galaxy Note brand that’s still high despite the ordeal from last year are other reasons why Samsung is keen to continue refreshing this product family even after the hit it endured with the Galaxy Note 7, insiders claim. The wording used by the sources of the new information pertaining to Samsung’s next Android flagship isn’t contradictory to a recent report that the Galaxy Note 8 is set to be unveiled in late August, specifically on the 23rd of the next month. Instead, the newly emerged details only suggest that the device won’t be available for purchase before September. The Korean consumer electronics manufacturer is still likely planning to organize a pre-order period for the phablet that will be at least several weeks long, similar to how the company was previously accepting advanced orders for the Galaxy S8 series and a number of its older high-end mobile products.
The Galaxy Note 8 is said to be an upgrade over Samsung’s other two 2017 flagships in terms of hardware, with recent rumors suggesting that the phone will ship with 6GB of RAM and a dual camera setup on its rear panel, in addition to featuring an Infinity Display that’s 0.1 or 0.2 inches larger than the 6.2-inch module found on the Galaxy S8 Plus. More details on the device will likely follow in the coming weeks.