In an unprecedented situation in the smartphone industry, Samsung announced today that it is recalling every single Galaxy Note 7 it has made so far. As reports surfaced earlier this week about the new flagship mobile product being faulty, the South Korean tech giant has decided to take a stand – not that it has a choice. The latest Samsung Note device is not jamming or rebooting automatically, but is capable of literally combusting spontaneously.
Although only a tiny amount of all the Note 7 units produced so far were impacted by the hardware flaw, the safety risk has left Samsung with no choice, but to summon all devices that have been shipped. This is something novel. While this isn’t the first time a genuine flaw was discovered in a device – Apple’s iPhone 4 had an antenna anomaly that affected performance, but the company kept selling it with the intention of fixing it in later iterations – it is the first time a high profile smartphone is subject to such a total recall.
Over a week ago, publications started reporting cases of a Galaxy Note 7 exploding while plugged in and charging. The first user to experience this posted pictures of the result on the Chinese platform Baidu. He claimed that the device burst into flames for no apparent reason while it was charging. As customers reported instances of their brand new devices catching fire, it has now been found to be a battery-related issue.
Samsung had paused sales of the device as fire reports were echoed by the media and followed up on that with today’s move of recalling all the handsets. The head of Samsung’s mobile phone division, Koh Dong-jin, said: “It has been confirmed that it was a battery cell problem.”
The company claims that it had shipped 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 units since the product launch on August 19. While Mr. Koh did not provide any details on how much this exchange program is costing the smartphone-maker, he did say that the figure “almost breaks my heart.”
Another reason why the recall would cause pain to any dedicated Samsung employee is the timing of these events. Apple – Samsung’s biggest rival in the smartphone space – has scheduled an event for September 7 where the industry believes the new iPhone models will be unveiled. Over the recent years, Samsung has grabbed the first spot in the global smartphone market share ranking by launching a variety of smartphones with its flagship S and Note lineups competing against the premium branded iPhones.
Now, as Apple is expected to make its move for this year with rumors of little enhancements coming to its new generation smartphone, Samsung is having an absolute nightmare with its latest high-end device. The Galaxy lineup that has been helping the company to fight fierce competition from Apple and Chinese manufacturers is now proving to be not so reliable.
The Galaxy S7 phone has been a hit this year as Samsung reported the most profitable quarter – the one ended in June 2016 – in the past two years; the 16% profit margin is a record since 2014. And apparently, the Note 7 was on its way of being a bigger hit as, according to Samsung, preorders and reservations for the big-screen smartphone was higher than previous Galaxy models.
Samsung had received 35 cases related to the explosive battery issue in devices across the globe and estimates that 24 devices in a million were faulty. The official also said that customers can avail a full refund if they have experienced this problem. The exchange program will be launched in all 10 countries where the product has been rolled out. According to the company, it would take nearly two weeks to work on power supply issues.
Mr. Koh said that for each country, there is only one supplier for the Note 7 batteries. However, the units being sold in China house non-faulty batteries from a different supplier, which is why Samsung proceeded with the product’s launch in the country on September 1.
On Wednesday, the Galaxy maker confirmed halting shipments at its home turf – South Korea – to run some quality tests on the waterproof smartphone. Australia’s major carriers confirmed on Friday that sales have been paused. The company says that it would provide further clarity on the exchange program country-by-country in the coming days. Samsung is discussing individual plans with vendors in different regions.
Starting September 19, the Note 7 exchange program starts in South Korea with a battery-monitoring service being launched in the country tomorrow to keep current users safe. The company has started unloading units from the cargo and is recalling stocks that have already been delivered overseas. It has not yet decided what it will do with the returned devices, but said that it would comply with local regulations in all countries.
Stay tuned for more on the Galaxy Note 7. If you are using one, please ensure using an authentic charger and stay alert when the device is on charge. For now, back up all your data and wait for Samsung to provide details on how to go about this catastrophe in your country.
