Following reports of igniting batteries in the recently released Samsung Galaxy Note 7, the South Korean company has announced that it will replace all handsets that have fire-prone batteries and halt sales of the premium phablet in ten markets – a huge blow for the company’s smartphone business.
The head of that smartphone business, Koh Dong-jin, revealed at a news conference that Samsung had so far sold 2.5 million Note 7 units. The recall, to cover markets including the US and South Korea, will see not only phones sold to consumers, but also in-transit units and retailer inventories, replaced.
Samsung said that it expects the replacements process, after which Note 7 sales in affected markets will resume, to start in about two weeks. Koh said that affected customers would get extended refund periods and be offered exchanges for other Samsung handsets, Reuters reports.
On the subject of batteries, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk could help Apple to refine the battery technology for upcoming iPhones and iPads. The new issue of AppleMagazine, available through our free-to-download app from today, explains why.