The world’s biggest mobile phonemaker has announced it will stop selling its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones and prepare replacement devices after a number of its premium gadgets caught fire due to battery problems.
Samsung said in a statement Friday it would take about two weeks to prepare replacement devices for its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. The sales halt came after the company learned of 35 cases of fire-prone battery problems.
The announcement came amid reports that some of the premium phones had been catching fire while recharging. The high-end gadget has been the subject of online complaints from users claiming their phones had been singed after being plugged in.
High hopes
The South Korean firm has pinned its hopes on the Note 7 to maintain strong sales momentum in the second half against stiffening competition from the likes of Apple, which is expected to release its latest iPhone next week.
“They need to nip it in the bud right now. The last thing they want is for memes to be spreading on the internet associating the Samsung name with an exploding battery or injury,” IDC analyst Bryan Ma said.
On Wednesday Samsung already said it had halted supply of the new phone to the top three South Korean carriers and that shipments were being delayed as it conducted additional quality testing.
uhe/cjc (Reuters, AFP, dpa)
