Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Launching With Free Original Case In South Korea

New information about Samsung’s highly anticipated phablet, the Galaxy Note 8, surfaced this week thanks to industry sources. According to this new tidbit, the Galaxy Note 7 successor will ship with a free original case inside the box.

On Tuesday, The Investor learned that industry sources have informed South Korean publication ET News about Samsung Electronics’ plan of including an original case as part of the accessories that would be bundled with the Note 8. Samsung will not be charging extra for the case, since it would be counted as a basic accessory like the cable and charging dock that come with Samsung’s phones as standard.

The sources indicated that there are about three to four local manufacturers that Samsung tapped to supply 10 million units of the Galaxy Note 8 with this original case. The case is made of transparent plastic, and it’s designed mainly to protect the Android handset from smudge and dirt.

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Unfortunately, Samsung only intends to offer the original case to consumers in its home country. So only South Korean consumers can expect their Galaxy Note 8 to arrive with the protective case. Apple’s biggest rival has no plans of bringing this original accessory to other key markets like the U.S. and Europe.

The news that the Galaxy Note 8 will ship with an original case does not come as a surprise to Korean consumers. The refurbished Galaxy Note 7, which was relaunched as the Note Fan Edition last month, also came with an original case. All 400,000 limited editions of the refurbished handsets were shipped with an original case.

The inclusion of the original case in the flagship phablets is said to positively influence overall sales. After all, the accessory is usually priced at around 20,000 to 30,000 won ($18 to $26). The idea that one is getting this for free gives consumers more reason to favor Samsung’s handsets. This move is also seen to have an impact on third-party accessory manufacturers, for several consumers are likely to use the free case instead of purchasing one separately, as pointed out by SamMobile.

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Meanwhile, Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy Note 8 during its Unpacked event that’s set to happen on Aug. 23 in New York. Based on numerous leaks and rumors, the Note 8 will most likely debut with a 6.3-inch dual-edge curved display and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 or the Exynos 8895 processor. There are reports claiming the handset will come with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage space. It is also believed to house a 3,300 mAh battery and to feature a USB-C port.

As opposed to earlier reports about the Galaxy Note 8 possibly sporting a display-embedded fingerprint scanner, the latest updates about the device now point to a rear-positioned fingerprint sensor just like the one found on the Galaxy S8. Nonetheless, the iPhone 8 rival is still expected to be a flagship killer given its bezel-less design and new note-taking features.