Edward C. Baig

USA TODAY

NEW YORK— Will the Note 7 battery fiasco choke sales of Samsung’s latest smartphone? Not likely, according to a new survey and optimistic projections from the Korean smartphone giant.

On redemption Friday, the day when consumers could start getting the company’s first major phones since the twice recalled and ultimately discontinued Note 7 phablet, analysts expected heavy demand for the new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S+ devices.

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Newly released research from SurveyMonkey and Creative Strategies found the Note 7 recalls had no impact on the interest in the Galaxy S8 and S+ for 53.7% of those surveyed. Among current Samsung smartphone users, 65.2% were unbothered by the Note 7 recall. Less than one third, or 28.5%, said the recall would influence their interest in the S8.

The latest results echo data from last fall when Creative Strategies found that 62% of folks did not see the Note 7 battery fires — ultimately linked to problems with their lithium-ion batteries — as a deterrent to purchasing a Samsung smartphone in the future. The number then among Samsung smartphones owners was 73%.

The data "suggests the Note 7 fires were never a big roadblock for consumers to begin with and even less so now. This should alleviate any concern over the Note 7 fallout impacting the sales of any Samsung smartphones released this year,” notes Creative Strategies principal analyst Ben Bajarin.

Samsung itself has said pre-orders of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ in the U.S. showed strong double-digit growth, outpacing those of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. Most of those who pre-ordered chose the larger Galaxy S8+; Midnight Black has been the preferred color. What's more, buyers who preordered were eligible for a free Gear VR headset. The S8 and S+ cost north of $720, and $840, respectively, with prices varying by carrier and plan.

It seems, though, when it comes to phones, Samsung can’t completely avoid controversy. Some consumers in Samsung’s South Korean backyard complained of S8 displays that had an unusual reddish tint.

Samsung says a software fix is coming.

“In the past, we have received feedback that consumers wanted the ability to customize the color setting of their Galaxy devices due to natural variations in displays, and we provided the option to do so in previous software updates," the company said in a statement.

"While the Galaxy S8 and S8+ have the ability for the user to modify the color of the display, Samsung has listened to feedback and has decided to release a software update as early as next week which will provide customers with a further enhanced ability to adjust the color setting to their preference.”

Samsung's super sharp display on the S8 and S8+ was a major factor in USA TODAY's positive review, with Samsung managing to cram larger screens into handset designs that are not much bigger than last year’s models.

According to the Creative Strategies/SurveyMonkey research, the screen, followed by the 8-megapixel front-facing camera, stood out as the No. 1 and No. 2 features among folks interested in the device.

There was only tepid interest in Bixby, Samsung’s new digital assistant and Siri rival. That may be a good thing, at least in the short run, given that the vocal component within Bixby has been delayed.

Bajarin says voice assistants in general are not yet major purchase drivers. “While the usage of voice assistants like Siri, Ok Google, Alexa, and Cortana have certainly been rising, they still have a long way to go to convince the market of their greater value.”

Email: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow USA TODAY Personal Tech Columnist @edbaig on Twitter