How Samsung Should Design Galaxy Note 8 to Recover From Recall Debacle

With its Galaxy Note 8 debut next year, Samsung hopes to regain customers’ confidence in its smartphones. Here’s what Samsung should include in the Note 8 to restore buyer trust.

The Samsung Galaxy Note7 came with a nice design, featuring a large screen, a thin profile and easy portability. Samsung shouldn’t change those design factors. The Galaxy Note7’s design was one of the reasons the smartphone was successful in the first place. Dramatically changing the design will only turn off buyers.

Samsung touted the Galaxy Note7’s battery size and life, but it needs to shift focus. According to some reports, part of the Note7’s problem was due to a battery that was too big for a small device. Samsung should offer a lower-capacity battery, even if its battery life is shortened. After all, a safer battery is better than one that explodes.

Display quality matters greatly in today’s marketplace, and all signs are pointing to Apple offering a curved screen in next year’s handset. Therefore, Samsung must offer the very best resolution it can in its Galaxy Note 8’s curved screen. The Galaxy Note 8 will be designed to compete with the iPhone 8. If it has the same resolution or something similar, it’ll be in trouble.

Apple has historically been trailing other smartphone makers on power. The worst thing Samsung can do, then, is to offer Apple an opportunity to catch up next year. Samsung should work closely with its own chip manufacturers such as Qualcomm to offer the most powerful processor and graphics performance on the market. If the Galaxy Note 8 holds the power lead, customers might forget about the Galaxy Note7.

Software matters just as much as hardware. Samsung should therefore improve its software experience by delivering a refined Android skin, improve services like Samsung Pay and more. Better yet, Samsung should promise regular software updates to Android so users know they’re not buying something that will be obsolete in a few months. The better the software in the Galaxy Note 8, the greater its appeal.

While companies like Google are investing heavily in cloud-based storage, Samsung shouldn’t fall into that trap. On-device storage still matters greatly to consumers and corporate users and shouldn’t be a place for Samsung to skimp. If the Galaxy Note 8 is to be Samsung’s best smartphone, it must come with ample storage.

The S Pen is the feature that differentiates the Galaxy Note from all other high-end smartphones. Therefore, Samsung needs to go out of its way over the next year to improve the S Pen’s functionality and precision. Apple might try to match the Galaxy Note 8 on power, display quality and design, but it can’t match it on stylus support. Samsung mustn’t forget that.

Once Samsung settles on the Galaxy Note 8’s features, the device maker must reassure customers about its commitment to quality and reliability. Samsung should hire a third party to test its smartphone and report on how it performed in rigorous testing. Samsung should also consider a money-back guarantee on the Galaxy Note 8 and make a strong promise that there won’t be a repeat of the issue of overheating and fires.

Companies like Huawei are differentiating their brand by offering outstanding warranties that take phones back in circumstances in which other handset makers wouldn’t. Since Samsung has a defect problem, why not offer a similarly strong warranty, rebate and return policy? Such a policy might assuage concern that the Galaxy Note 8 will be as untrustworthy as its predecessor.

Samsung’s 50-percent-off deal in Korea is nice, but it’s not enough. The company should offer a similar deal in the U.S. and other key markets around the world. Even better, Samsung should offer special pricing on the Galaxy Note 8 and make it notably cheaper than competing high-end smartphones. Price matters to customers. And at a generous discount, the Galaxy Note 8 could help buyers forget about the Galaxy Note7’s troubles.