Samsung’s New Phones Releases For 2017: Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus, Note 8 Release Dates & Rumors

By Edwin Kee
Samsung Galaxy S8 is said to innovate on screen design.
Samsung Galaxy S8 is said to innovate on screen design.  The Galaxy S8.

Samsung and Apple do have a battle royale on their hands with the upcoming releases of their respective flagships. Samsung is certainly lining up three devices that will certainly be on the lips of many people -- the Samsung Galaxy S8, the Galaxy S8 Plus, and the Galaxy Note 8. However, one question that will certainly remain on the minds of many is this -- just how much will the new Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus, and Galaxy Note 8 cost?

New Samsung 2017 smartphones pricing
According to SamMobile (the link no longer works as at press time, which does lead us to wonder whether it is a legit rumor or a false lead), a database leak that hails from Hryvnia, a retailer in Ukraine, the Galaxy S8 (model number SM-G950) and Galaxy S8 Plus (model number SM-G955) will kick off at $950 and $1,050, respectively, after taking foreign currency exchange into consideration. Of course, this should not be a concrete price tag, as consumer electronics do vary in pricing (at times, rather sharply) across various countries. Still, we do not see the final figure veer too far away from what has been leaked as that is normally the case with smartphones.

However, with a $100 premium thereabouts over the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, that is not going to sit well with those who would like to upgrade their handsets. It is not as though the economy is booming at the moment and money flows freely. Not only that, this would clearly make it look as though Samsung would like to match Apple in terms of its iPhone 8 pricing, where some have said that it will cost at least $1,000 for the iPhone 8 Pro. Smart move or not, the bean counters might know something that we don’t.

What colors will the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus come in?
Interestingly enough, Hryvnia’s listing does single out that also points to the initial Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus models will arrive in Black, Gold or Orchid Gray color options, and it remains to be seen whether there will be other colors in store down the road. If so, it would not be surprising as we have seen the same strategy employed by Samsung with their Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

Galaxy S8, S8 Plus hardware specifications
It is rumored that the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus will both arrive with some rather large 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch displays, without the chassis being larger than the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. In other words, we are looking at a bezel-less or near bezel-less form factor. Hopefully the cramming in of such displays into the rather cramped chassis would not result in any other hardware conflicts such as an exploding battery.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 release date
As for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, this particular phablet is tipped to be released some time later this year, and it would be a real surprise if it actually made it off the blocks at MWC 2017 that is happening later this month. Chances are, it will follow the footsteps of its predecessors with a 2H 2017 announcement and subsequently, controlled roll outs in different countries. Chances are Samsung would have pulled all of the stops to make sure that the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will not suffer from the exploding battery fiasco as seen in its predecessor, and time its release to coincide or even pre-empt the 10th anniversary iPhone 8 release. Galaxy Note 7 owners might also want to take advantage of the 50% discount option when the new Note 8 arrives.

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