Samsung kills off the Galaxy Note 7 to end the exploding battery debacle
Samsung’s problems worsen after reports of replacement Note 7s catching fire. John Ribeiro reports
It became evident that matters were getting more difficult for the tech giant when it was widely reported it was considering temporarily halting production of the replacement Note 7s
Samsung has announced that it has stopped production of its Galaxy Note 7. The phone had been plagued with battery problems, which caused fires and even explosions. The company confirmed it is stopping production, a day after it had advised carriers and retail partners worldwide not to sell or exchange replacement Note 7s.
Phone providers, including Vodafone, EE and Three, had already announced that they would stop offering exchanges after reports of fires and explosions involving replacement handsets. These included a report of a Note 7 catching fire on a Southwest Airlines flight.
Samsung had offered to give customers the replacement phones as part of a recall of around one million Note 7 smartphones. Other countries, including the US and Canada, had announced similar recalls.
It became evident that matters were getting more difficult for the tech giant when it was widely reported that Samsung was considering temporarily halting production of the replacement Note 7s. A recent statement from the firm said it was, “temporarily adjusting the Galaxy Note 7 production schedule in order to take further steps to ensure quality and safety matters”.
Samsung has not disclosed which product line will replace the Note 7. It appears that customers will be able to get a refund or a Galaxy S7 or S7 edge.
“Samsung is doing what’s needed here by containing the damage to the Note 7 before consumer fear spreads to other Samsung products. Killing such an otherwisepromising product line is painful but perhaps necessary for the long-term health of the company,” explained Bryan Ma, vice president for devices research at IDC.
The firm still has its flagship smartphones, the S7 and S7 edge, that users can turn to, said Ma, who added that if people are willing to switch from Android to iOS, it could well benefit Apple. “Users that want to stick to Android have plenty of other Android flagships to choose from, be it from LG, HTC, Sony, Huawei or even Google’s recently launched Pixels.”