Analysts are urging Samsung to drop the entire Note brand, and instead focus on future devices sold under the Galaxy moniker. The company may very well do just that, given the enormous PR damage that the Note7 fiasco did.
It’s been less than 24 hours since Samsung officially announced it was giving up on the Galaxy Note7, and no longer producing the device. The smartphone’s chances of being a hit disappeared as soon as numerous reports of the phone’s tendency to catch fire and explode started coming to light. Since those original reports, Samsung has struggled with a worldwide recall, a re-launch with replacement units, a ban from the FAA, and finally, new reports that the replacement phones also suffered from the same fatal flaw.
Given such a constant barrage of negative news it’s little wonder that Samsung gave up on its current flagship device. But some analysts in Samsung’s home country are urging the company to abandon the Note branding entirely, in an effort to save what’s left of the company’s reputation. According to a report from the Korea Times, public sentiment surrounding the phone brand, as gauged by social media posts, has become quite negative over the past two months. Negative perception rose to 53%, while positive perception of the Note7 went down from 62% back when it launched to 42%.
There are already numerous rumors and speculation that Samsung may heed this warning and drop the Note line entirely, in an effort to put all of these issues behind it. The upcoming Galaxy S8 flagship, expected early next year, might even feature a “Pro” version, with stylus support, which would effectively become the new Note series.
In either case, there’s a lot of pressure on Samsung to take some radical moves. The company’s stock and earnings saw severe blows thanks to the Note7 debacle, so any upcoming device must be perfect to repair the company’s image.
Source: Korea Herald Via SamMobile