Samsung says sales of the Note 7 in affected markets including the United States – but not China – would resume after it deals with replacements.
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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.
The company will replace all Samsung Galaxy Note7 sold units in next two weeks.
The smartphone maker also announced it would replace the devices of all customers who already have a device over the next few weeks. A Samsung official told Yonhap that despite the mass recall, the majority of devices should be unaffected. According to company there has been 35 reports come out globally on the battery cell issue, as of September 1.
“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.
Chinese people visit the Samsung roadshow booth promoting their latest Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, outside a shopping mall in Beijing, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016.
The news comes as Samsung’s archrival Apple is due to unveil its iPhone 7 on Wednesday.
Samsung’s investigation had been underway after media reports said that some of the large-screen smartphones had caught fire while charging. The Note 7 was unveiled just a month ago.
The South Korean company said in a statement it would take about two weeks to prepare replacement devices.
The world’s largest mobile phone maker may well be on its way to recall the already sold Note 7 models that were launched in markets including the US and South Korea, mid last month, however an official statement to this effect is yet to be issued.
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In a statement issued Friday, president of Samsung’s mobile business Koh Dong-jin apologized for causing inconvenience and concern to customers. “We are working closely with our partners to ensure the replacement experience is as convenient and efficient as possible”, the company said.
