Samsung's Galaxy S8 won't appear at Mobile World Congress
After the Galaxy Note 7 recall, it feels like we've waited forever for a new Samsung flagship phone. The wait isn't over yet.
Samsung's comeback phone is not ready yet, following last year's debacle with the Galaxy Note 7, shown here.
Hankering after a Galaxy S8? Well you're going to have to wait.
Samsung will not unveil its next flagship phone at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month, the company revealed Sunday.
The announcement was made by Samsung's mobile chief Koh Dong-jin and confirmed in an email to CNET on Monday.
"Samsung can confirm the company will not unveil its flagship product at Mobile World Congress this year," a company spokeswoman said in a statement.
The decision follows a thorough investigation into a fault with the Galaxy Note 7 that caused the phone to be recalled twice and then discontinued altogether in late 2016. Samsung revealed that, as suspected, it was a flaw with the phone's battery that instigated multiple incidents in which Note 7 devices caught fire.
MWC, the world's biggest trade show for mobile phones, has been used in the past by Samsung and other phone manufacturers as an opportunity to lift the lid on their most important devices of the year.
The Note 7 debacle is likely to have put the brakes on the launch, but Samsung has increasingly hosted its Samsung Unpacked events, during which it unveils its most exciting new mobile products, away from the chaos of trade shows. This trend looks set to continue now.
Following the S8 launch, which is expected to take place this spring, Samsung is also set to unveil the Galaxy Note 8 later in the year. In spite of the bad publicity generated by its overheating predecessor, the company is not giving up on the Note brand and believes loyal customers will flock to buy the phone.
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