Samsung Confirms New Devices Will Come Within This Year: An S Series Flagship Phone & The Galaxy Note 8

Last Thursday, April 27, Samsung Electronics claimed that they are planning to launch in the second half of this year, a new flagship phone. Speculations noted that the company might plan to have an alternative to the issued Galaxy Note 7 that had to be recalled last year.

Samsung's said-to-be launch of a new flagship smartphone this year, plus the continuous sales of their Galaxy S8 and S8+ will help the company counter Apple's launch of a new version of its iPhone. Apple usually unveils new phone in September.

According to from the research manager for client devices at IDC Asia/Pacific, Kiranjeet Kaur, and Samsung does announce an S series phone in the first half of the year and a Note series in the second half, as noted by NDTV. A Samsung spokesperson said that the company can't comment on the future product plan. However, Samsung Mobile president DJ Koh claimed earlier in the year that a better, very innovative, and safer Note 8 will be launch at some point.

According to Droid Life, Samsung started shipping its Galaxy Sb and S8+ smartphones from April 21 in the U.S. along with certain other markets. The company started pre-orders for the two smartphones were higher than they had been for the predecessor Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, which was launched in March 2016.

Meanwhile, Samsung's IT & Mobile Communications (IM) division that includes the company's smartphone business reported a drop in profits and revenue in the first quarter, which the company blamed on adjustments of the prices of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. The revenue of the division was down by 15 percent to $20.7 billion from $24.2 billion in the same quarter last year.

Samsung's upcoming flagship smartphone and the global rollout of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ are expected to help the division increase revenue and profit. The company claimed that competition is expected to be higher in the second half of the year as a result of the rollout of a new smartphone by rivals, Apple's launch of a new version of the iPhone.