Samsung announced a special edition of the Galaxy Note 8 meant to commemorate the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games, having designed it in partnership with the PyeongChang Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee. The limited revision of the Android flagship will be given to all Paralympians competing at this year’s iteration of the Paralympic Winter Games, with the South Korean tech giant claiming the move is not just meant to showcase how its latest mobile technologies can improve the accessibility of digital content but is also yet another milestone in its efforts to support athletes with disabilities which started with its sponsorship of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
Other athletes competing at the upcoming Olympics will also receive the newly announced revision of the Galaxy Note 8 free of charge along with their staff members, with Samsung planning to distribute approximately 4,000 units in total. The Seoul-based original equipment manufacturer said nothing to suggest the phablet will eventually be available for purchase and likely isn’t planning to retail it at all. The official moniker of the device doesn’t contain any mention of the Galaxy brand, with Samsung unveiling the offering as the “PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games Limited Edition.” The units meant to be given to athletes before the next Olympics begin early next month will also be accompanied by equally rare protective cases, with the phone itself coming with a custom version of Android Nougat-based Samsung Experience software which also boasts a number of Olympics-themed wallpapers.
Samsung didn’t clarify which exact model of the Galaxy Note 8 was used as the basis for the newly announced smartphone but its previous limited editions of the phablet suggest the latest one boasts 256GB of internal flash memory. The rear plate of the device is largely white and has golden accents, much like the S Pen accompanying the flagship. The packaging of the new Galaxy Note 8 was also reworked and is much larger than the retail box housing the regular variant of the smartphone, presumably to accommodate its protective case. The next Olympics run from February 9th through 25th and will end just a day before the company is expected to officially announce the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus.
