Samsung Galaxy S8 Rumored To Launch With A Larger Variant — A Replacement For Defunct Galaxy Note 7?

Samsung may be planning to rise from the ashes following its decision to scrap its promising yet controversial flagship device, the Galaxy Note 7. A new rumor now claims that instead of releasing just one Galaxy S8 early next year, the South Korea giant is planning to launch two new iterations for its Galaxy S line.

According to GSM Arena, a fresh rumor from China claims that the Galaxy S8 will come in two variants: a standard version with a 5.1-inch 2K curved Super AMOLED display and a larger version with a 5.5-inch 4K display.

The rumor that originated from a Weibo post also claims that to add a distinguishing feature between the two handsets, Samsung is likely to incorporate a dual-camera setup into the larger Galaxy S8 variant. Should this be true, then Samsung is possibly following in the footsteps of Apple, which is now known to release a pair of flagship devices annually.

Just this Tuesday, Samsung dropped a major bombshell when it announced that it is discontinuing the production and sale of the Galaxy Note 7 amid complaints of fires and explosions despite its initial effort to replace the faulty handsets. With this bold decision comes the price of having to suffer long-term punishment from consumers, as per PhoneArena.

By scrapping the Galaxy Note 7, it is inevitable for consumers to change their perception on the Galaxy Note line. Korea-Insight Institute vice chief Kim Duk-Jin says, “Samsung is recommended to drop the Note brand as consumers may still find it dangerous even when the new Note 8 comes out.”

Should Samsung drop its Galaxy Note line, however, it appears that it has a fallback based on the new rumor about a larger Galaxy S variant that could start with the release of the Galaxy S8 next year. For the time being, Samsung is mum about its plans after the demise of the Note 7, so there is no way of confirming if it is indeed ending the Note series and starting a new one using its established S line.

Meanwhile, rumors about the Galaxy S8 continue to run amok. There are now speculations that the next S flagship iteration could run either Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 830 chip or Samsung’s own Exynos 8895 processor. The device is also rumored to ditch the S Voice in favor of Viv AI assistant, a feature that is going to be developed by the company’s latest acquisition, the startup by Siri creators called Viv Labs.

As previously reported, Samsung could be launching the successor to its Galaxy S7 a day before the Mobile World Congress. A leaked invite claims the South Korea giant is holding its Unpacked event for its new flagship on Feb. 26 in Barcelona, Spain.