Samsung says it won’t launch the Galaxy S8 at Mobile World Congress

Hot on the heels of detailing the conclusions of an investigation into the recall of the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung has said that it won’t preview its come-back smartphone at Mobile World Congress, the mobile industry’s largest trade show, in February.

The head of Samsung’s mobile business, Koh Dong-jin, told Reuters that there is no timeframe for the upcoming Galaxy S8’s reveal. The Korean firm has used the event, which takes place in Barcelona and attracts over 100,000 attendees, to unveil its upcoming flagship phones in years gone by. In 2016, it previewed the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge at Mobile World Congress before going to sell the devices to the public in March.

It could be that the new safety and quality assurance procedures that the company is introducing following its investigation into the Note 7 recall have impacted production and sale time, or simply that Samsung is being more cautious after it was forced to discontinue the phablet device on safety grounds. Either way, Samsung fans will need to wait a little longer than usual to see what goodies the Korean giant has in store for them in 2017.