The announcement comes just two weeks after Samsung launched its latest flagship smartphone. The AP reports that, according to Samsung, the Galaxy Note 7s sold in China used a different battery that wasn’t affected by the flaw. Faulty batteries powering the device are said to be responsible.
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“To date (as of September 1) there have been 35 cases that have been reported globally and we are now conducting a thorough inspection with our suppliers to identify possible affected batteries in the market”, the company said in a statement sent to USA TODAY Friday.
In Seoul, South Korea, Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung’s mobile business said Friday that customers who already bought Note 7s will be able to swap them for new smartphones, regardless of the purchasing date. There are no reports of injuries. “Nevertheless, the reason we made this decision is because what is most important is customer safety”.
While it is unknown as yet how widespread the problem is, a source stated less than 0.1% of the total unit sold are affected. “The problem can be simply resolved by changing the battery, but we’ll come up with convincing measures for our consumers”, the official added.
In a Galaxy Note7 teardown from iFixit, it appeared that the lithium-ion battery inside the phone was made by Samsung.
Asked about these issues on Thursday, Samsung sent a statement in reply saying it was “conducting an inspection” on all reported battery issues and would “share the findings as soon as possible”.
Samsung has recalled nearly all of the shipments which have already been sent to distributors and retailers.
Users will be offered a replacement phone. The company said it may take two weeks to have replacements ready; numerous faulty devices are being quarantined in shops around the world that had been prepared to debut them today.
Samsung this week admitted to having quality control issues with the Galaxy Note 7, but today we found out things are much worse than originally believed.
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Last year, Apple recalled its Beats Pill XL wireless speaker, after rare cases when its battery overheated and caused a fire risk.
