Two years after Samsung issued a global recall of the Note 7 phone, the company is still living in the shadow of its infamous PR disaster. Indeed, if you type “Note battery” into Google, the search engine tries to autofill it with the words “fire”, “explosion”, or “problems” which isn’t exactly ideal as Samsung tries to push pre-orders of the imminent Samsung Galaxy Note 9.
Those tempted by the Note 9 may also be slightly unnerved by the strides forward Samsung has taken in the battery life department. While the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 reduced battery size in an attempt to put safety ahead of performance (it dropped from 3,500mAh to 3,300mAh), the Note 9 features the series’ largest ever power cell: 4,000mAh.
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Despite this, Samsung is keen to reassure potential consumers that any fears around it are completely unfounded.
“The battery in the Galaxy Note 9 is safer than ever,” said Samsung Mobile CEO DJ Koh, Korean publication The Investor reports. “Users do not have to worry about the batteries anymore.”
It’s the “anymore” that is particularly troubling here, of course.
Samsung was forced to issue a global recall of the Note 7 just 53 days after it went on sale. It led to full-page apology adverts in national newspapers and not-so-subtle TV commercials emphasising the quality-control checks that the company now employs.
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Of course, Samsung can offer as many reassurances as it likes – the real way to win hearts and minds is to ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself.
That may sound easy enough, but remember that with all eyes on the company, a single rogue battery malfunction – the kind that happens to all manufacturers at some time or another – could do plenty of damage to a company still keenly aware of the trust it lost two years ago.
Do you trust Samsung with the Note 9’s battery? Let us know on Twitter @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
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.