While Samsung has been in full damage control mode for weeks now and will reportedly spend up to a billion dollars just to fully complete the process of replacing the problematic devices, industry experts are debating what went wrong during the company’s quality assurance process which somehow didn’t catch the fact that a significant percentage of batteries manufactured by Samsung SDI is faulty.
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Samsung did indeed manage to schedule the launch earlier in the year than usual, but at a cost.
In the United Kingdom, the exchange programme will see customers get contacted by the provider or operator they received their Galaxy Note 7 from, who will then arrange for an exchange. In other words, it would have definitely made sense for Samsung to try and beat the next iPhone to the market.
Then came the time to land the final blow on Apple- a killer punch for which Samsung was readying its ultimate phablet- the Galaxy Note 7. Plus the iPhone 7 has the added bonus of not bursting into flames. This will limit the phone’s charge to 60 per cent, encouraging customers to exchange it for a new Note7.
Samsung launched their Galaxy Note7 Exchange Programme in Ireland today, where customers can swap their existing device for a new version.
JD.com said it referred the case to Samsung.
The first of these comes from a man whose Note 7 exploded in the pocket of his trousers, according to Reuters, resulting in severe burns on his right leg and his left thumb.
A spokesperson said: “Although there have been only a small number of reported incidents, customer safety is Samsung’s absolute priority”. A “battery cell issue” was cited by the Korean manufacturer as the cause.
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An early launch of the Galaxy S8 and S8 Edge phones may also give Samsung a head start over the likes of LG, Huawei and HTC who are also expected to launch their next-gen flagship phones at Mobile World Congress.
