SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Samsung, the world’s largest consumer electronics manufacturer, may be poised to follow in the footsteps of Apple when it launches its next smartphone. According to a report from SamMobile, the company might be releasing new wireless in-ear headphones when it launches the Galaxy S8 smartphone, likely in the spring of 2017.
With company profits at their lowest in nearly a decade, due to a battery flaw with the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone that had been widely reported to catch fire and explode, the company is hoping to bounce back in 2017 with its upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphone.
Samsung’s Apple AirPod Killer?
There has been speculation for weeks that Samsung would ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack on its new fleet of smartphones, which has already been done by Apple, Motorola and others.
While Samsung’s first wireless headphones, the IconX hearable devices, were launched months before the Apple AirPods were released, it’s still unknown how much different the new wireless earphones might be in features and design.
Samsung’s IconX hearables, shown with recharging case.
Insiders have suggested that Samsung might take a page from startup hearable-maker Bragi, which recently released the Headphone, wireless earphones that are not as feature-rich as the company’s Dash hearable. In a similar fashion, Samsung might release a product similar to the IconX, but with more basic functionality.
As of now, it’s not clear whether the wireless earphones will be part of a bundled package with the new S8 when it launches in the spring or whether the company will opt to sell them separately.
