Due to the recall in several countries however, reports says that Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s shares, have fallen to their lowest level in almost two months.
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But many users have snubbed the offer, choosing to wait until the new phones were available, citing the inconvenience of switching devices for an interim period.
The world’s largest smartphone maker also apologized to Korean users through nationwide newspaper ads on the first day of Chuseok, one of the country’s biggest festive occasions.
Samsung lost US$22 billion in market value over the two days from Friday after regulators, airlines and the company itself warned against the use of the devices.
Samsung did not answer emails and calls seeking comment on Tuesday.
In the USA, the company is working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to figure out how a formal recall of the phones will work.
Software update will cut battery capacity to 60%.
Samsung announced the software update for any users of the Note 7 who may be disregarding its recall notice and continuing to use the smartphone.
However, Samsung said the devices sold in the Chinese market were not on the recall list as the batteries were from another supplier. The company announced the recall of the Note 7 – one of its best-reviewed phones upon debut – on September 2 after receiving 35 cases of the device overheating or catching fire. The New York Post reported that a six-year-old boy in New York was burned while watching videos when the Note 7 burst in his hands. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission is considering an official product recall after urging owners of the phone to turn them off and leave them off. Samsung however stressed that it needed to carry out a more thorough analysis to determine “the exact cause” of battery damage. The three biggest USA airlines – American, Delta and United – have said flight attendants will remind passengers of the FAA warning, but it was unclear how they would make sure that passengers keep the Samsung devices powered off.
Earlier this week, U.S. authorities warned airline passengers not to turn on or charge their Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones when on board a plane, following reports of devices catching fire. In China, Samsung has now initiated a recall of 1,858 test devices distributed to consumers before the Note 7 went on sale September 1, the country’s quality-control agency said in a statement on its website. It was not clear when the update may be issued overseas. It pledged to pay part of the mobile fees for customers who replace their Note 7s with new phones, without specifying amounts.
In August, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Note 7, which updates its flagship phablet line with new durability and security features.
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It would prevent the phones from overheating, and thus exploding, but would effectively mean a downgrade of the high-end device – and therefore an incentive to turn it in.
