This sounds a lot more realistic given the millions of Note 7 phones sold, giving it away for free would no doubt cost Samsung a good deal more. According to the report, Samsung has announced the compensation program in South Korea where, “Users in the upgrade programme will need to pay only half the price of a Galaxy S7 device, rather than the full amount, before exchanging to the S8 or the Note 8.”
The mention of the Note 8 seems to disprove one of the rumors that Samsung will only release one flagship smartphone in 2017. However like we said, the announcement was made in Korea so there’s a good chance that it could be limited to the country and that those outside of Korea might not be entitled to it.
If that were the case we’re probably looking at an alternative form of compensation since it would be unfair for Samsung to only offer it in one market and not the others they operate in. That being said, with 40% of customers recently polled saying they won’t return, we have to wonder if a Galaxy S8/Note 8 at 50% off would be tempting enough to change their minds.