Samsung has suspended sales of its newly-launched top-end Galaxy Note 7 after numerous reports of the devices catching fire or exploding. In a statement, Samsung said it would prepare replacement devices for phones already sold after finding problems with the battery cell used.
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This week, the company’s stock, having reached a record high following critical acclaim for the Note 7, plummeted after numerous reports that the phones were faulty.
One country isn’t included in the recall – China. It has confirmed 35 cases have been reported globally and that a battery cell issue is to blame.
Koh Dong-jin, head of Samsung’s smartphone business expressed regret at the recall, which will affect markets including South Korea and the United States – but not China, where models feature a different battery.
Samsung has confirmed that it is recalling the Galaxy Note 7, its newest smartphone, following reports that some devices exploded.
If you’re expecting a pre-ordered Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to be delivered to you today, you might not want to wait in.
“This is some major buzz-kill for Samsung, especially given all of the hard-earned excitement that products like the Note 7 have been garnering lately”, IDC analyst Bryan Ma says. “We’ll have more details for our customers as soon as possible”. It added that it is aware of 35 cases of faulty batteries, although it isn’t clear how many of that number had exploded. No injuries have been reported, the AP says.
Later that summer Chinese news outlets alleged that a Samsung Galaxy S4 was responsible for a house fire after a man’s phone burst into flames while he was using it.
“In response to questions on Galaxy Note7, we are conducting a thorough inspection with our partners”, Samsung said.
The company estimated it would take about two weeks to begin swapping old Note 7s for new phones.
Samsung had previously said demand for the new Galaxy Note phone was far exceeding supply, forcing it to push back the launch date in some markets.
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“We will voluntarily replace their current device with a new one”, the company said.
