The fanfare around Samsung’s new flagship smartphone this week could not entirely mask anxieties among executives at the troubled South Korean electronics group still reeling from its disastrous previous phone launch and a corruption scandal.
Samsung wants to draw a line under the crises of the recent past with the launch of the Galaxy S8, which was given the sort of big budget spectacle and cheering crowds that emphasises the importance of winning over the fickle followers of technology.
But for Samsung, there was a wider job to be done in helping to reset its corporate image. There is more than just phone sales at stake for Samsung after the company suffered more than $5.3bn of losses from the safety debacle of the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 smartphone last year.