Will Samsung Galaxy S8 Be Released Early After Galaxy Note 7 Disaster?

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 may be released early. The Express has the news.

“SAMSUNG is hard at work on its next flagship smartphone — Galaxy S8 — which is expected to ship sooner than expected, with an edge-to-edge display and no 3.5mm headphone port.”

The article adds that, this time, Samsung will only release a curved device since that’s what most customers want. The S8 is expected to launch with two different models — one with a 5.1 dual-curved display and another with a 5.5-inch dual curved display. An exact release date hasn’t been set, but it’s believe that Samsung is delivering the updated Galaxy S model a lot sooner than expected to try and deflect from the flaming (literally) disaster of the Galaxy Note 7.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 arrived with fantastic reviews, but Samsung had to recall the product due to many exploding devices. There are no deaths reported, but injuries — including one involving a six-year old — have been reported. BGR claims that a new lawsuit against Samsung has been filed.

“In the meantime, what will likely be an inevitable stream of Note 7 lawsuits has already begun. According to report from Reuters, a Florida man named Jonathan Strobel sued Samsung this past Friday after a Note 7 tucked away in his front pocket burned a hole through his pants.”

The article adds that Strobel reportedly experienced severe burns on his front leg along with a severe burn to his left thumb after trying to remove the device from his pocket. So far, there has been no response from Samsung to this particular lawsuit.

Florida has particularly been hit with many exploding Galaxy Note 7 devices. A couple weeks back, there was a report from Fox 13 that revealed Samsung’s device caused a St. Petersburg, Florida family’s Jeep to catch on fire.

“Just days after Samsung recalled its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, a St. Petersburg man says he found out the hard way why the recall was issued in the first place. Nathan Dornacher’s wife, Lydia, said the family went to a yard sale Labor Day morning. While unloading a desk they bought for their daughter, Nathan left his Note 7 charging in the center console of his Jeep Grand Cherokee.”

The article then adds that when looking out their window, they noticed the Jeep was on fire. The Note 7 had exploded and lit the Jeep with flames.

Meanwhile, Samsung is doing everything they can to replace Note 7 devices. An email from the company reveals that Samsung will deliver replacement units for the Note 7 no later than September 21, which is this coming Wednesday. They received approval for the exchange program from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). If you don’t want another Note 7, you can return your device and get your money back. You can also exchange it for another phone such as the Galaxy S7 Edge.

As much as Samsung has screwed up, people have been warned to return their devices. Tony Bradley of Forbes claims that one can’t blame Samsung for Note 7 users who are too stubborn to respond to the recall.

“Samsung obviously bears responsibility for the initial manufacturing and selling of defective devices that caused harm and/or injury. However, once Samsung acknowledged the problem and issued the global recall—working with mobile providers to initiate trade-in programs to allow Note 7 owners to turn in the devices, it seems to me that the burden shifts to the Note 7 owner,” Bradley claims.

Perhaps the Note 7 is too good of a device when it isn’t blowing up. Samsung could use the fact that many people love their Note 7 devices so much that they are risking their lives to keep it. However, it may not be a good choice PR-wise to do so. Let’s hope the upcoming Galaxy S8 erases the memory of the botched Galaxy Note 7.

[Featured Image by David Ramos/Getty Images]