Samsung to reveal cause of Galaxy Note 7 explosions on Sunday
Samsung is looking to close the book on last year's Galaxy Note 7 debacle with a press conference on Sunday, at which the company intends to reveal results of multiple investigations into the smartphone explosions.
Along with its own findings, Samsung will present results from "expert organizations" that conducted independent analysis of the Note 7 fires, the South Korean tech giant said in a statement on Thursday.
"Samsung Electronics, as well as independent expert organizations who conducted their own investigation into various aspects of the Galaxy Note 7 incidents, will share their findings," the statement reads, as reported by The Verge. "Samsung will discuss the findings of the investigations and unveil new measures Samsung has implemented in response to the incidents."
Referred to as the "Note 7 issue" by Samsung, problems of exploding or combusting handsets first surfaced shortly after the phablet device launched in August. Incidents were initially limited to South Korea, but the problem soon spread to international launch countries. Mainstream media outlets took notice when dozens of Note 7 fires cropped up in the U.S.
The ongoing issue prompted Samsung to halt shipments in late August, later deciding to activate a voluntary global recall of some 2.5 million devices. Samsung attempted a quick fix and issued replacement hardware, but those units suffered from the same defect.
Galaxy Note 7 sales were officially halted on Oct. 10, with Samsung announcing a permanent discontinuation of the line a day later.
The company publicly apologized for the apparent quality issues, at one point taking out a full-page ad in major news outlets like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post. Note 7 was the first topic discussed during Samsung's keynote address at CES earlier this month.
A report earlier this week claimed Samsung in its investigation was able to reproduce the device fires experienced by consumers last year, and plans to officially announce the Note 7's battery was to blame for the incidents. That same report pegged Jan. 23 as a likely date for the press conference.
Samsung's press conference will be streamed live, with an English version available at Samsung.com.
Along with its own findings, Samsung will present results from "expert organizations" that conducted independent analysis of the Note 7 fires, the South Korean tech giant said in a statement on Thursday.
"Samsung Electronics, as well as independent expert organizations who conducted their own investigation into various aspects of the Galaxy Note 7 incidents, will share their findings," the statement reads, as reported by The Verge. "Samsung will discuss the findings of the investigations and unveil new measures Samsung has implemented in response to the incidents."
Referred to as the "Note 7 issue" by Samsung, problems of exploding or combusting handsets first surfaced shortly after the phablet device launched in August. Incidents were initially limited to South Korea, but the problem soon spread to international launch countries. Mainstream media outlets took notice when dozens of Note 7 fires cropped up in the U.S.
The ongoing issue prompted Samsung to halt shipments in late August, later deciding to activate a voluntary global recall of some 2.5 million devices. Samsung attempted a quick fix and issued replacement hardware, but those units suffered from the same defect.
Galaxy Note 7 sales were officially halted on Oct. 10, with Samsung announcing a permanent discontinuation of the line a day later.
The company publicly apologized for the apparent quality issues, at one point taking out a full-page ad in major news outlets like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post. Note 7 was the first topic discussed during Samsung's keynote address at CES earlier this month.
A report earlier this week claimed Samsung in its investigation was able to reproduce the device fires experienced by consumers last year, and plans to officially announce the Note 7's battery was to blame for the incidents. That same report pegged Jan. 23 as a likely date for the press conference.
Samsung's press conference will be streamed live, with an English version available at Samsung.com.
Comments
Sammy set a date like it's a keynote or something.
#bombgate
#HYPE
If so, which ones prevented the devices bursting in flames. It would be a great marketing talking point for those case manufacturers.
"If you you are worried about your phone exploding right next to your groin, buy xzy brand."
/darnitall
I'm sure Samsung wants to control the spin on this before anyone else does, and as someone noted above, what better way to minimize the coverage than to hold it on a Sunday. I'm surprised they didn't hold it on Christmas.
Since the same battery was reportedly used without issue on other devices, I'm not sure how they're going to spin 'we had a bad design and rushed it to market before we could adequately test it.'
(Darn, @anome beat me to it...)
It will be announced Super Bowl Sunday!
Now Samsung says there's another reason for the battery exploding? Maybe the battery icon needed to be yet another color?
Incidentally, I just read somewhere that Samsung says "irregularly-sized" batteries were responsible. What b-s. Just a weasely phrase for "we made them big so that we could make some claims that we beat Apple on battery life."
It'll revolutionize the flaming battery segment overnight.
Can we get a teaser, though? Maybe with a sexy shot of a smoky battery in a misty half-light?
It's also very likely that people who put on "heavy" hard cases like the OtterBox likely damaged the battery in the process if this is the case. Only those really flimsy silicone cases likely saved any of the phones from imminent combustion.