The recall, the first for the new smartphone though not the first for a battery, comes at a crucial moment in Samsung’s mobile business.
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Samsung beat expectations with stellar earnings in the latest quarter and its stock price was at a record high before news emerged of the Note 7’s battery problems. Even as Samsung has maintained that only a few of the already circulating Galaxy Note 7 are likely affected by the battery glitch, it’s a lot safer to return the phone immediately or put down the afflicted device.
Samsung declined to comment on any plan to recall its flagship device, which has been the subject of online complaints from users claiming their phones caught fire while charging. It said Samsung estimates that the number of Galaxy Note 7 phones with the faulty battery accounts for “less than 0.1 percent” of the products in the market.
“We acknowledge the inconvenience this may cause in the market but this is to ensure that Samsung continues to deliver the highest quality products to our customers”, the statement said.
This is an extraordinary decision for a tech giant to make based on so few reported incidents – Samsung says it is aware of only 35 cases worldwide. “No one wants to wake up at 1, 2 or 3 (in the morning) and find out your smartphone’s on fire”. Consumer Reports found that the phone didn’t live up to its water-resistance promises. Samsung has identified the affected inventory and stopped sales and shipments of those devices.
Samsung said it will be a total recall and the replacement process will start over the next two weeks, at the latest.
As of September 1, Samsung counted 35 global cases of Note 7 phones exploding while being charged-the result of a battery cell issue, according to an internal investigation. Koh refused to name the supplier.
“It will cost us so much it makes my heart ache”.
It did not elaborate on any problems it may have found with the gadget, which was launched in South Korea and other markets on August 19.
The 34-year-old living in the port city of Busan said by email that she was bruised when she rushed out of bed after her phone burst into flames, filling her bedroom with smoke smelling of chemicals. The company said it used a battery made by another supplier for the Note 7s sold in China.
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She’s having second thoughts about buying another newly released device, especially after losing all her personal data stored in the destroyed Note 7, she said.
