As Samsung scrambles to recover from the ongoing Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, the company could already be looking forward to its next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8, to win back customers and restore trust in Samsung's products.
According to leaked documents on the Galaxy S8, the smartphone will be using the new 10nm chipset named the Exynos 8895 alongside the new Mali-G71 GPU of ARM, which is said to be up to 1.8 times more powerful compared with its predecessor, the Mali-T880 that is used with the Exynos 8890 in the Galaxy S7.
The Galaxy S8 is reported to be combining the Mali-G71 with a screen boasting of 4K resolution at 3,840 x 2,160 pixels for 806 pixels per inch. With these two components, Samsung looks like it would be tapping into virtual reality as the secret weapon of the upcoming smartphone.
With significant experience and a deep understanding of consumers in the virtual reality space collected through its Gear VR headset, Samsung will be looking to provide a topnotch experience with the Galaxy S8. This becomes more important as more systems and headsets, such as Sony's PlayStation VR, are set to be released, pushing virtual reality further into the mainstream.
Samsung has been pushing for innovations and cutting-edge technology in its flagship smartphones, such as the curved display that has been reported will also be coming to the next Apple iPhone. The burgeoning virtual reality industry is still looking for the killer application that will allow it to fully penetrate consumer electronics, and perhaps this is the mission that Samsung has undertaken for the Galaxy S8.
According to analysts, customers might not have to wait long to see what Samsung will offer for the Galaxy S8. In what is considered to be a silver lining in the Galaxy Note 7 recall program, which was initiated by Samsung due to the incidents of exploding batteries, the company could be looking at an earlier launch for the Galaxy S8 to deal with the crisis.
Instead of trying to recover the lost sales of the Galaxy Note 7, analysts say that Samsung should instead focus on getting the Galaxy S8 out into the market as soon as possible to be able to offset the negative impact of the global recall program.
If Samsung does indeed release the Galaxy S8 earlier than planned, and with the focus on virtual reality with a 4K display and the Mali-G71, will the smartphone be able to win back customers who have lost their trust in the company after the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco? That remains to be seen, but if Samsung is aiming to do so, such a massive move on its part for the company's next flagship smartphone would be a necessity.
