The Deepsea Blue variant of the Galaxy Note 8 will be released in the United States on Thursday, November 16th, the South Korean phone maker said earlier today. Samsung will be selling the new smartphone directly from its online store, with the handset also being set to go on sale at Best Buy, Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint on the same date. The price of the new iteration of the phablet will be identical to the Midnight Black and Orchid Gray models which go for $950 and are also eligible for device trade-in discounts of up to $300, in addition to coming with a free Samsung Desktop Experience (DeX) Station or the Gear VR (2017) headset, depending on your preference. The same color variant is already available in South Korea and select European countries, though it remains to be seen whether Samsung ends up offering it in even more markets going forward.
The timing of the release of the new Galaxy Note 8 version coincides with the launch of the OnePlus 5T which is set to be introduced on the same date in New York City, marking the first U.S. product launch for the Chinese company that will try to take on flagships from major brands like Samsung this holiday season. The largest smartphone manufacturer on the planet also opted to expand its stateside Galaxy Note 8 lineup shortly after the commercial debut of the Apple iPhone X, the latest flagship from the South Korean tech giant's main rival. Samsung's efforts to maintain its momentum in the highly competitive U.S. market over the upcoming holiday season recently also manifested themselves in the company's decision to bring the Galaxy S8 Active to T-Mobile and Sprint, with the rugged smartphone being set to go on sale at the two carriers only a day after the Deepsea Blue edition of the Galaxy Note 8 hits the market.
Officially released in mid-September, the Galaxy Note 8 is Samsung's most powerful Android smartphone to date, with its U.S. version boasting the Qualcomm-made Snapdragon 835 SoC and 6GB of RAM, in addition to featuring 64GB of expandable storage and a 12-megapixel dual-camera setup. The handset is expected to be one of the most commercially successful mobile offerings of the year, with Samsung advertising it as the ultimate blend of style and functionality.