Samsung ‘adjusting’ Galaxy Note 7 production schedule

SEOUL: Samsung is changing the production plan for its latest line of high-end smartphones, the company said yesterday, as it struggled to contain safety problems that have already forced a global recall.

“We are temporarily adjusting the Galaxy Note 7 production schedule in order to take further steps to ensure quality and safety matters,” the firm said.

Earlier reports from South Korea and the United States indicated that Samsung had temporarily stopped production of the Note 7 phone for safety reasons.

“This measure includes a Samsung plant in Vietnam that is responsible for global shipments” of the Galaxy Note 7, a Samsung supplier told Korean news agency Yonhap on the condition of anonymity.

The Wall Street Journal also said production of the phone had been halted, citing “a person familiar with the matter”.

Samsung started selling the smartphone on Aug 19, but announced a global recall of 2.5 million units in September following reports that some of the devices had caught fire.

The Wall Street Journal said four Samsung phones burst into flames in the US last week, but it was not clear what models were involved or whether they were repaired models. Yonhap said there had been eight cases around the world of reported fires involving replacement Note 7 smartphones. – dpa