After reports which suggested the newly released Galaxy Note 7 may catch fire while charging. Numerous photos and videos uploaded to social media suggested the phones exploded and burned while charging. More than 35 such cases have been reported to Samsung thus far. This lead to a global recall of nearly 2.5 million units of the flagship device. In an announcement they said the problem is specifically with the battery, and that the battery is supplied by 2 different manufacturers. Only one of the two manufacturers had the problem. The name of the manufacturer at fault was not disclosed at the time of the announcement.
Now, Korean reports are suggesting the problems are with the batteries produced by Samsung SDI subsidiaries. This company is reportedly responsible for supplying 70% of the batteries. The rest 30% of the batteries were produced by Chinese battery maker, ATL, which did not show any problems as of now. It is likely Samsung will order additional battery units from ATL. LG Chem may also be contacted should there be any shortage. ATL will presumably ship the batteries for the newer units that are yet to be put on sale in addition to the ones being recalled.
The recall, while an expensive one, is very very embarrassing. It has apparently cost Samsung $1 Billion. It won’t take Pro-Apple consumers to brand this as a rushed release since Apples next flagship is right around the corner. The largest cellphone manufacturer of the world will certainly take the hit when it comes to reputation. We hope nobody was hurt due to this defect. These sort of mistakes are strongly condemned. After all, if you buy a phone for a thousand bucks, you’d expect it to do something better than to burn itself.
