The marvel it wasn’t ...
EXPLODING: BATTERY PREVENTS SAMSUNG NOTE7 FROM BEING A TECH TOUR DE FORCE Giant phonemaker has put extensive measures in place to ensure its upcoming flagship Note8 device also won’t go boom.
I t was one of the best smartphones ever made. And it was one of the most disastrous products ever launched. That is the maddening ambiguity behind the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, which saw three million units recalled after batteries began malfunctioning.
This week, Samsung released its findings on what went wrong. But the revelation was limited to the technical flaws and did not delve into the strategic story. That, it appears, will remain an internal autopsy.
Koh Dong-jin, president of the mobile communications business division of Samsung Electronics, announced the results of the investigation.
He was joined on stage by executives from three independent industry groups that had conducted their own investigations into the malfunctions, namely Exponent, UL and TUV Rheinland. There was to be no cover-up.
They agreed a design flaw had led to the first batch of phones catching alight: The battery’s external casing was too small for its components, leading to pinching of the top corner of the battery by the pouch that held it. This caused a short-circuit and, inevitably, ignition.
To make matters worse, according to UL, when things went wrong, the high energy density of the battery design meant they went badly wrong.
The Note 7 could have survived the initial recall, but the batteries provided by a second supplier introduced a new flaw. Not only did it have defects in the welding, or what a Samsung YouTube video described as “an abnormal weld spot” that led to an internal short circuit, but some came without protective tape.
Guess which supplier won’t be invited back in a hurry?
Koh expressed his apology and gratitude to customers, operators and partners, and unveiled new measures Samsung had taken to respond to the incidents.
“Based on what the company learned from the probe, Samsung has implemented a range of internal quality and safety processes to further enhance product safety,” it said on Monday.
“These include additional protocols, such as multi-layer safety measures and an Eight-Point Battery Safety Check.”
Samsung also announced a Battery Advisory Group made up of external advisers “to ensure it maintains an objective perspective on battery safety and innovation”.