Official: Samsung Suspends Galaxy Note 7 Production Until Further Notice
Samsung is wisely choosing to err on the side of caution by suspending production of its troubled Galaxy Note 7 smartphone that's been making headlines for all the wrong reasons. What started off as a promising Android device for people who like larger size Android handsets has earned a reputation as a potentially dangerous gadget that's prone to overheating and catching fire.
An official at one of Samsung's suppliers told Yonhap News Agency that the company is cooperating with safety regulators from South Korea, the United States, and China, all three of which presumably urged Samsung to stop building Galaxy Note 7 phones until this whole mess can be fully investigated and properly sorted out.
"This measure includes a Samsung plan in Vietnam that is responsible for global shipments," the official said.
Samsung issued a global recall of Galaxy Note 7 devices early last month amid reports that handsets were overheating and exploding. At the time, Samsung said it had received reports of 92 overheating incidents in the U.S. alone, including 26 incidents involving burns and 55 others resulting in property damage.
This has been nothing short of a disaster for Samsung. While it initially hoped to avoid a global recall, the situation recently became even worse as reports of replacement devices overheating and catching fire have started to trickle in. One of those incidents involved a replacement Galaxy Note 7 device going up in smoke on a grounded Southwest Airlines plane that had to be evacuated. And in yet another case, a Kentucky man had to be rushed to the emergency room after vomiting up black mucus, a clear sign of smoke inhalation that allegedly resulted from his replacement Galaxy Note 7 catching fire.
The Galaxy Note 7 is probably a lost cause at this point. Samsung initially blamed the overheating incidents on the battery, but the replacement phones are using a different battery produced by a different manufacturer than the original batch. That seems to indicate the problem lies elsewhere, though either way, consumer confidence is shaken. The same is true of wireless carriers—all four major carries in the U.S. have stopped selling replacement Galaxy Note 7 handsets and are letting owners swap them out for a different phone.
An official at one of Samsung's suppliers told Yonhap News Agency that the company is cooperating with safety regulators from South Korea, the United States, and China, all three of which presumably urged Samsung to stop building Galaxy Note 7 phones until this whole mess can be fully investigated and properly sorted out.
"This measure includes a Samsung plan in Vietnam that is responsible for global shipments," the official said.
Samsung issued a global recall of Galaxy Note 7 devices early last month amid reports that handsets were overheating and exploding. At the time, Samsung said it had received reports of 92 overheating incidents in the U.S. alone, including 26 incidents involving burns and 55 others resulting in property damage.
This has been nothing short of a disaster for Samsung. While it initially hoped to avoid a global recall, the situation recently became even worse as reports of replacement devices overheating and catching fire have started to trickle in. One of those incidents involved a replacement Galaxy Note 7 device going up in smoke on a grounded Southwest Airlines plane that had to be evacuated. And in yet another case, a Kentucky man had to be rushed to the emergency room after vomiting up black mucus, a clear sign of smoke inhalation that allegedly resulted from his replacement Galaxy Note 7 catching fire.
The Galaxy Note 7 is probably a lost cause at this point. Samsung initially blamed the overheating incidents on the battery, but the replacement phones are using a different battery produced by a different manufacturer than the original batch. That seems to indicate the problem lies elsewhere, though either way, consumer confidence is shaken. The same is true of wireless carriers—all four major carries in the U.S. have stopped selling replacement Galaxy Note 7 handsets and are letting owners swap them out for a different phone.
