Note 8 Release: Samsung Indicates 2017 Launch In South Korean Press Release

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. indicated the release of the Galaxy Note 8 smartphone in a press release issued Monday in South Korea about its “Galaxy Upgrade Program” for Note 7 customers.

The Galaxy Upgrade Program is for customers to exchange their Galaxy Note 7 for the Galaxy S7 or the S7 Edge, and to make it easier for them to purchase the Galaxy S8 or Note 8 to be released next year, the release stated.

Galaxy Note 7 customers in South Korea, who opt to replace the phone with a S7 or S7 Edge, will get a chance to upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy S8 or Note 8 next year. It is not a free upgrade — customers will pay half the price of the S7 or S7 Edge to qualify.

The most interesting detail diverged in Samsung’s press release is the presence of the Note 8 handset, disputing earlier reports that the Note series would be discontinued following the Note 7 scandal.

The Note 7 device is at the center of ongoing trouble for the company with class action suits emerging in South Korea and U.S. from consumers who had bought the phones. Customers in South Korea are demanding a 500,000 won ($442) compensation.

Attorney Peter Young-Yeel Ko, head of the Harvest Law Firm, told reporters outside the Seoul Central District Court: "We are filing a lawsuit not to ask for hundreds of millions of won in punitive damages like in the United States. We are demanding fair compensation for the simple damage that consumers have suffered."