Samsung Urges Employees, Suppliers To Keep Quiet On Upcoming Galaxy S8 Smartphone

Samsung is in the middle of recuperating from the Galaxy Note 7 recall and is also working on its flagship smartphone for 2017, the Galaxy S8. Now the company is taking measures to prevent any confidential information on its inner workings to get leaked by issuing a gag order to its employees and suppliers.

“Leaks of operational secrets can cause irreversible ramifications, posing a great financial risk on the company and leading to broken partnerships and loss of trust,” Samsung said in the email which was published online by The Korean Herald. The gag order signals that the company is now on high alert as it struggles to maintain its reputation in the midst of the Galaxy Note 7 debacle.

The South Korean publication notes that some have speculated that the gag order is related to Samsung vice chairman Lee Jae-yong’s upcoming succession as a registered board member of the company. A more likely reason for the gag order is Samsung’s way of preventing any more leaks related to the Galaxy S8.

“Samsung has notified its suppliers not to mention a single word on the Galaxy S8,” an official from a Samsung part supplier said anonymously. The company’s flagship smartphone is expected to launch in February 2017 during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Although Samsung is now urging its employees and suppliers not to leak any information on its upcoming handset, the order may have already been too late as there are already a few making the rounds on the internet.

IBT reported yesterday that Samsung is planning to ditch its two-flagship models strategy in favor of only releasing the Galaxy S8 as its lone flagship for 2017. Another leak related to the Galaxy S8 indicates that the handset will come with a dual-lens camera and an iris scanner, an official form one of Samsung’s part supplier said.

There are also rumors going around that the S8 will come with an edge-to-edge screen and that the handset will no longer have a physical home button, according to Android Authority.