Samsung May Possibly Release Only One Flagship Smartphone In 2017 To Ensure Product Quality

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 recall may have affected the South Korean manufacturer with how it releases its smartphones every year. There are already murmurs that the company might be ditching the Note line entirely, and now there’s a rumor going around that Samsung is planning to only release one flagship smartphone next year.

Samsung is said to be working on streamlining its smartphone portfolio for 2017 by focusing solely on its flagship Galaxy S line, The Korean Herald reported citing an unnamed official from one of Samsung’s OEM partners. The change in flagship smartphone strategy is said to be due to the company’s tight release schedule for the Galaxy S and the Galaxy Note which has affected product quality.

With the Galaxy Note 7 controversy, Samsung is estimated to lose $3 billion for the next quarter, with a loss of around $17 billion in potential revenue, according to Ubergizmo. There are also rumors making the rounds that Samsung has either ditched or stopped development for some of its projects due to financial problems. If true, Samsung has enough reason to entirely ditch plans for a Note 8 and concentrate on making sure that the Galaxy S8 is a success.

“Samsung has not notified its suppliers of the plan to scrap the current two-flagship models strategy, but if so that could impact the parts suppliers to some extent,” a representative from one of Samsung’s partner firms told The Korean Herald.

Rumors and supposed leaks for next year’s Galaxy S8 have already begun popping up, and there’s a high possibility that this may be the only flagship handset that Samsung is planning to release in 2017. The Galaxy S8 is expected to make its official debut during the Mobile World Congress next year which kicks off on Feb. 27 in Barcelona, Spain.

As for Samsung’s Note line, the company might simply be ditching the brand. It is still possible that Samsung will still come out with a device with the same form factor to capitalize on the Note line’s previous success, as pointed out by 9To5Google.