Samsung Galaxy S8, Note 8 Launch Steady After Note 7 Investigation Report To Be Made Public This Month

It would be over four months between the first incidents and January-end, but it would still be very welcome news when Samsung announces the findings of its investigation into the battery overheating issues that plagued its Note 7 flagship device. The South Korean electronics giant is expected to make public those findings before this month is over, according to a local daily.

A report Monday in JoongAng Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper, cited anonymous sources who said the company will soon explain why the batteries of Note 7 were overheating, catching fire and spewing smoke. The issue prompted a worldwide recall that cost Samsung over $5 billion.

And while the recall doesn’t seem to have affected the company’s brand perception and sales, Samsung cannot afford to make the same mistake again with its upcoming flagship devices of 2017, the Galaxy S8 and the Note 8. These two will be the first two flagship models from the company since Note 7, and whatever problem affected the Note 7 must be solved before either of the 2017 devices are put into commercial production.

There were reports earlier that said Samsung will finish the investigation and release the report by the end of 2016, but that hasn’t happened. But if the company wants to launch the Galaxy S8 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona late February-early March, it will probably need to wrap up the Note 7 business soon, like the JoongAng Ilbo report said.