Samsung released a standard-issue press release recently, announcing its first quarter results and talking about its future plans. Buried among the sentences is a particularly interesting one which may just be talking about the Galaxy Note 8.
Samsung plans to improve its performance by maximizing sales of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ and successfully launching a new flagship smartphone in the second half of the year. While it didn’t come out and call the latter the Galaxy Note 8, the phone is the most likely option.
First-off, Samsung’s mobile chief DJ Koh has already confirmed that the company is in fact looking to continue the Note brand in spite of the exploding disaster that was the Galaxy Note 7. Secondly, the firm has traditionally released its Note phones in August or September every year, so the second half timeline fits with that perfectly.
Also See: Samsung to start selling refurbished Galaxy Note 7 in June
There’s also the fact that the Note series handsets are probably be the only lineup other than the Galaxy S range which can be called a flagship range. There have been sprinklings of rumors about a foldable Galaxy X handset coming out in Q3 or Q4 2017, but this is still very uncertain.
Other than talk of future smartphones, Samsung also reported that it’s managed to increase its operating profits to KRW 9.90 trillion, higher than last year’s by 3.22 trillion. This came about because of a rise in sales for its memory and display business. However, revenues from its mobile branch fell because of a decline in flagship product sales, likely the Galaxy Note 7.