Samsung's Galaxy S8 flagship is coming on March 29 -- and with it, a shot at redemption.
After apologizing to fans yet again for its disastrous drama of recalling 3 million fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 phones, Samsung capped the night (the launch of a different pair of devices) by teasing the Galaxy S8 design and announcement date in a video.
Launching a safe, buyable Galaxy S8 is the South Korean company's chance to get its phone business back on track, and to pick up momentum from a giant mobile show where Samsung characteristically launches its Galaxy S phones. Instead, we saw pressure from LG, Huawei and BlackBerry, the last of these in a comeback bid.
Although Samsung's profits are soaring on the strength of its chips as well as S7 and S7 Edge phone sales, it will still need to make up the $5 billion it lost on the Note 7 -- and that's not counting any impending lawsuits.
Samsung has the power to make a truly great phone. After all, reviewers like me had initially lauded the Note 7 as one of the most impressive phones Samsung had ever made. The question is, will the Galaxy S8 have enough of the goods to refocus shoppers who bolted after the Note 7 debacle? And can Samsung win back buyers' trust?
Samsung's Galaxy S8 flagship is coming on March 29 -- and with it, a shot at redemption.