The chances of your next smartphone bursting into a ball of flames has been dramatically reduced, and all thanks to the Galaxy Note 7’s explosive ways.
According to new reports, in the wake of the Note 7 fiasco, government bodies in Samsung’s native South Korea are to impose stricter regulations on the production of lithium-ion batteries.
These, according to Reuters, will include greater oversight of the production process, and more regular inspections of facilities.
The Korean government has also stated that Samsung specifically will be more closely monitored and held to higher safety standards. Keeping track of this will involve regular x-ray testing of produced units, and more stringent guidelines around the design of new battery cells.
Regulatory bodies are taking these steps after the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was found to have been prone to combustion risks due to faulty batteries. Not only were original units at fault, replacement units from a second manufacturing partner also suffered similar issues caused by an overly aggressive design.
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As well as costing Samsung more than $5 billion and tarnishing its reputation, the Note 7 issues have had a knock-on effect to future phones, causing the Samsung Galaxy S8 to be hit by delays.
Korean officials have stated the new regulations are to be introduced after talks with the industry.
“We ask that the industry shares the view that making efforts to ensure safety is equally as critical as developing new products through technological innovation,” Vice Minister Jeong Marn-ki said in the statement.
In the wake of the fiasco, Samsung itself recently announced it was to make “several corrective actions” in a bid “to ensure this never happens again.”
This includes new design-based safety protocols and the introduction of a new “8-Point Battery Safety Check.”
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Have the Note 7 issues put you off future Samsung phones? Let us know in the comments.
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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.
