A leaked picture would suggest Samsung’s latest smartphone, the Galaxy S8+, is being manufactured in Vietnam, despite last year’s Galaxy Note 7 saga.
The picture shows the back panel of a phone tagged with “Made in Vietnam” below the “Galaxy S8 6” branding.
The number “6” has been interpreted by people familiar with the matter as the 6 GB RAM variant of the Samsung Galaxy S8.
Samsung is expected to officially unveil its next flagship devices, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, on March 29 in New York. The phones will go on sale on April 21.
Other leaked images of purported technical specifications have fueled rumors of a 5.8 inch and 6.2 inch display, backed by a 3000 mAh battery or 3500 mAh battery.
Samsung’s production in Vietnam incurred a loss of $122.6 million in the third quarter of last year after it was forced to recall 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7s globally following battery explosions.
The recall affected production at its two plants in the northern provinces of Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen, which produce a combined 35 percent of all smartphones that Samsung supplies to the global market.
However, that did not affect Samsung’s dominant position in Vietnam’s export sector last year. The company earned $39.9 billion in revenue from shipping electronics, up 10 percent against 2015 and contributing 23 percent to Vietnam’s total export revenue.
Samsung Vietnam said no jobs had been cut due to the Galaxy Note 7 incident. The company is targeting an export growth rate of between 7 and 10 percent this year.