Samsung Galaxy S8 to miss Mobile World Congress debut in aftermath of Note 7 fires
Owing to precautions set up in the wake of the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung's next rival to the Apple iPhone -- the Galaxy S8 -- won't be revealed at late February's Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona, the company's mobile head revealed on Monday.
In speaking to the press, Koh Dong-jin didn't offer a firm timeline for the S8's arrival, according to Reuters. Koh remarked that at Samsung, lessons from the Note 7's failure are now "deeply reflected in our culture and process," and that the company's Electronics division will be "working hard to regain consumer trust."
Samsung has traditionally used Mobile World Congress to debut its Galaxy S phones, which are often the bestselling Android devices in many countries. New testing procedures, however, are expected to delay the S8's arrival, particularly since the company can't afford a repeat of the Note 7 with its most popular line.
In previous years, the debut of a new flagship Samsung phone at the Mobile World Congress, ultimately led to a March shipment of the device. It is not clear if a March launch of the device will happen, or how far a release would be pushed back making any new phone shipment that much closer to the expected debut of a new iPhone in the fall.
On Sunday, Samsung announced the conclusion of its own investigation into the Note 7, finding that two separate battery defects were responsible for the fires, which triggered two recalls and the discontinuation of the product entirely.
The initial problem involved a flaw in the upper-right corner of the battery which triggered short circuits, Samsung said. After the first recall, an ultrasonic welding defect came into play.
In all the debacle will cost Samsung over $5 billion. On Monday the company said it hadn't decided whether it will reuse parts from the recalled devices, or sell any refurbished Note 7 models. The latter option may be unlikely however, given the negative publicity surrounding the product.
The Note 7's flaws may have been triggered by a rush to take more sales away from the iPhone 7, which Samsung executives weren't expecting to have any major improvements. Indeed the phone is mostly a minor upgrade from the iPhone 6s, except for the 7 Plus, which has a dual-lens camera.
In speaking to the press, Koh Dong-jin didn't offer a firm timeline for the S8's arrival, according to Reuters. Koh remarked that at Samsung, lessons from the Note 7's failure are now "deeply reflected in our culture and process," and that the company's Electronics division will be "working hard to regain consumer trust."
Samsung has traditionally used Mobile World Congress to debut its Galaxy S phones, which are often the bestselling Android devices in many countries. New testing procedures, however, are expected to delay the S8's arrival, particularly since the company can't afford a repeat of the Note 7 with its most popular line.
In previous years, the debut of a new flagship Samsung phone at the Mobile World Congress, ultimately led to a March shipment of the device. It is not clear if a March launch of the device will happen, or how far a release would be pushed back making any new phone shipment that much closer to the expected debut of a new iPhone in the fall.
On Sunday, Samsung announced the conclusion of its own investigation into the Note 7, finding that two separate battery defects were responsible for the fires, which triggered two recalls and the discontinuation of the product entirely.
The initial problem involved a flaw in the upper-right corner of the battery which triggered short circuits, Samsung said. After the first recall, an ultrasonic welding defect came into play.
In all the debacle will cost Samsung over $5 billion. On Monday the company said it hadn't decided whether it will reuse parts from the recalled devices, or sell any refurbished Note 7 models. The latter option may be unlikely however, given the negative publicity surrounding the product.
The Note 7's flaws may have been triggered by a rush to take more sales away from the iPhone 7, which Samsung executives weren't expecting to have any major improvements. Indeed the phone is mostly a minor upgrade from the iPhone 6s, except for the 7 Plus, which has a dual-lens camera.
Comments
most Samsung users are sheep anyway so no reason to "gain trust".
maybe they're not showing the iKnockoff because it's a fire hazard? I'm kinda thinking Mobile World Congress didn't want to risk burning the place down and politely asked Sammy to not bring it in. Their statement sounds like BS.
Also I hate how Mobile World Congress has turned into a big gathering of iClones with zero innovation all patting each other on the back.
When's the last time iPhones burned down several homes, cars and planes?
For EVERY person ('normal', non-techie)* I have talked to who owns an android, irrational anti-Apple sentiment was a key factor in their decision (and in many cases people are anti-Apple based on a complete 180 degree flipped view about issues that Apple is the clear leader in).
It seems clear to me that the popularity of android in general (among potential iPhone customers, not the third world) is in large part due to the vacuum left by VERY POOR PR on Apple's part.
Samsung (and in large part the tech media in general for some reason) has waged all-out PR war with Apple, and for some time now. But Apple barely responds.
Taking the high road may be the best strategy for an individual, but not for a company who's brand relies on mindshare and public perception.
Apple's minimal/lack-of response is by default accepted as tacit acknowledgement of the myths perpetuated by the Apple haters. It's just human nature.
Thankfully Apple is very good at what it does, and rarely makes any significant mistakes (rarely still, if at all, makes a big mistake); Apple is also protected by the fact that it makes great products.
However, for the reasons I stated above, any misstep is blown vastly out of proportion (as often occurs). and god forbid Apple makes a mistake that is actually significant... And if Apple's competition ever starts coming close to creating the quality products that Apple does, the negativity (based on myths) in the public perception at large will make it very easy for people to switch.
Since you asked.. firstly, what Apple has been doing so far has been excellent, just not enough of it (e.g. quality ads, the thoughtful and interesting interviews with Apple execs, for example the articles that came out in Fast Company). The events are fantastic, but when they're reported on by the press it's a feeding frenzy, and the reporting often lacks significant context (e.g. the strangely confused and negative reaction to the MBP, which produced a meaningful, practical, and non-gimmicky advancement in the UI that was and continues to be underappreciated).
Here's a few thoughts on other ideas off the top of my head:
-have an Apple twitter account that quickly addresses issues with a quick statement and link in order to mitigate the enormous amount of click-bait headlines, maybe label it "Apple Info" or something similar, or maybe use an exec twitter, like Phil or Tim
-be more proactive about promoting the good things Apple does as a company, like create succinct (i.e. non-preachy) ads about:
--environmental measures:
---mitigating deforestation is my personal favorite Apple environmental move
---Liam makes for a great visual, and I think I read, buried in some obscure article, that when Apple recycles a phone it breaks down every component, and that even the vapors produced in the process are accounted for; that's amazing, and it should be promoted.
---the solar installations integrated with farmland in china is very impressive
--worker responsibility: "we've been working hard for well over a decade to improve the lives of the people that build our products. some of the reports that we have been releasing on a yearly basis have gotten a lot of negative attention, but we're proud of the things we've been able to accomplish so far.. employee education, safety, regular audits, etc.
--security and privacy (e.g. every person I've talked to that has been hesitant about Apple Pay cited security concerns, ironically)
-ads that convey Apples contributions and innovation in the tech industry (e.g. I can't believe there hasn't been a commercial showing how hilariously cumbersome pre-iPhone phones were relative to what has come since, and even show an android in there to drive the point home).
-adds that convey Apple's philosophy/ethos (e.g. I'd love it if Apple ran/promoted that video about design where it talked about good design being one 'yes' to 1,000 'no's, that was so great).
-more proactive in general with the media; doing more advertising will help accomplish this. Also, it seems, and this is totally speculation, that Apple is a bit lackadaisical when it comes to the enormous amount of misinformation and half-truths that are regularly published as articles by popular publishers (e.g. forbes, BI, CNBC).
I think doing these things (along with plenty of other things I'm not thinking about right now) will go a long way to helping people understand Apple as a company, and will significantly reduce the negativity that is generated about Apple.
And, meanwhile, even with all the years of negative articles and rants by those who have an interest in seeing Apple fail, Blackberry, Nokia, HP/Dell/etc (all failed in the tablet space), and a host of other companies have collapsed or all but collapsed in the face of competition brought by Apple. Without Apple ever mentioning any by name or fighting the good public relations fight so many continually suggest Apple needs to fight.
With due respect, it seems you nearly completely missed my point(s).
-Further bolster the brand. If someone criticizes Apple now or in the future, the counter argument can't (or maybe I'm saying it shouldn't) be "Apple is successful." That lacks meaning. By making people more aware of Apple's qualities, there will be less criticisms, and the brand will be even stronger, and more resilient for the future. For a current example that is frustrating, the cynicism and myths out there lead a lot of people to be suspicious of privacy and security (as I mentioned previously), which impacts people's willingness to use Apple Pay.
-reduce the inane, reflexive criticism of future Apple products. After being a clear leader in innovation, Apple is still heavily criticized with every product release. Yet the ridiculous holo lens vaporware (which even hilariously boasted watching an AR movie on a blank wall), surface imac thing, and surface book all get rave reviews. If there wasn't so much false negativity about Apple floating around out there, the cynicism and ridiculous criticisms wouldn't stick.
-Allow Apple to be truthful to what it is, a humanistic company that values integrity. Allowing so many myths out three that are contrary to this gives a false impression of the kind of company Apple is, I believe.
-Help Apple continue to grow in the intermediate and long term. Why leave money on the table due to myths and FUD that keep people away from Apple as a company?
-Might reduce the negative impact on the stock (not a huge priority). Apple's valuation would look a lot more ridiculous if there weren't so much negativity that so many people are actually considering that Apple will be doomed any day now.
-Protect Apple in case of mistake or catastrophe (e.g. earthquake or kaiju destroys TSMC plants or something). People are not going to be loyal because Apple is successful. They will be loyal to a company that the are familiar with and that they believe is a good company.
Right now, for a lot (perhaps most?) consumers, Apple's goodwill comes from is great record in making great products. But why not leverage Apple's other strength as well, its qualities as a company? Apple clearly sees this as a positive thing (e.g. environmental issues touted at last Spring's keynote), who why not go from what seems to be the bare minimum (putting information out on a non-promoted website, or in a presentation, which seemed to go largely ignored), to more actively promoting Apple's genuinely positive attributes. I think Apple could easily avoid seeming arrogant about it; promoting humanistic qualities and providing information does not seem like it would come across as arrogant.