Samsung is finally going to reveal the full extent of what went wrong with its recalled Galaxy Note 7 smartphone next month.
The South Korean technology giant plans to “announce the final results of its probe” into the handset before the end of the year, as reported by reported by the Korea Herald, a local news outlet. The company launched its latest round of investigations into the phone on November 11, and is nearly ready to go public with its findings.
The investigation, which involves product safety authorities and experts from both South Korea and the USA, is hoped to be the final step in uncovering what really caused so many Galaxy Note 7 handsets to spontaneously catch fire.
Samsung announced its first Galaxy Note 7 recall on September 2, exactly one month after the phone launched. An internal investigation revealed a battery flaw that appeared to be to blame for the combusting handsets. The company eventually reissued “fixed” phones, but users were still reporting problems, leading Samsung to initiate a second (and final) recall. Samsung has since pleaded with users to turn off their phones indefinitely, and has stopped manufacturing the Galaxy Note 7.
At first, it was believed that the batteries built by Samsung’s own battery-making division were squeezed into too small a space, causing the poles to connect and generate excess heat. But even when that issue appeared to be resolved, phones were still catching fire, baffling Samsung’s engineers. In a new statement given to the Korea Herald, a Samsung official is quoted as saying: “We are considering all possibilities to find out the exact cause of the accidents.”
The pressure is now on for Samsung to quickly move past the Note 7 fiasco, and redirect consumer attention to next year’s Galaxy S8 launch. The new flagship handset is expected to arrive in February or March 2017, and will give Samsung a chance to win back unhappy Note 7 customers.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
