"We are temporarily adjusting the Galaxy Note7 production schedule in order to take further steps to ensure quality and safety matters," a company spokesperson said. Production of the phone has been temporarily suspended, a person familiar with the matter told CNN on Monday.
The development is the latest in a string of embarrassing setbacks for Samsung over the Note 7, one of its flagship smartphones. It comes aftercell phone carriers in the United States and Australia said they would stop offering replacement Note 7s following concerns that the new versions are no safer from fire risk than the originals.
Soon after the Galaxy Note 7 hit stores in August, some users reported that their phones were catching fire. Samsung (SSNLF) recalled about 2.5 million of the devices worldwide last month, blaming faulty batteries for overheating the phones and causing them to ignite.
Replacement phones were supposed to solve the issue, and users started trading in their old devices. But some customers have been reporting the same dangerous problems with their new phones.
In the past week, an American user reported his replacement phone caught fire, even though it wasn't plugged in. And on Wednesday, smoke started billowing from a replacement Galaxy Note 7 aboard a Southwest Airline plane before it departed, prompting the flight's cancellation.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has said it is investigating the incident on the plane.
TuanAnh Nguyen, a research analyst at Canalys, said the production halt would cost Samsung billions of dollars in lost sales over the next six to nine months. It should now abandon the product entirely, he said. "Samsung needs to quickly put an end to the Note 7 line so as not to get deeper into trouble with recalls and faulty devices which will tarnish its brand," Nguyen said.
UPDATE:
Submitted via IRC for exec
Moments ago, Samsung confirmed that they are halting all sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7 across the globe. Not only that, but they are recommending that owners of the phone turn them off and “take advantage of the remedies available.” Those remedies are returning the phone at the place of purchase for a refund …
All sales and production of the Galaxy Note 7 have now been halted.
Previously:
Samsung Recalls Galaxy Note 7 due to 'Exploding' Batteries
Florida Man Sues Samsung Over Galaxy Note 7 that Exploded in His Pants
Samsung Faces the Prospect of a Second Galaxy Note 7 Recall
(Score: 3, Insightful) by TheGratefulNet on Tuesday October 11 2016, @01:53AM
I don't feel at all bad for samsung. it was a long time coming.
they are THE cheap-assed company of the decade. find the cheapest parts, many of them fake (fake china caps that last a year or two instead of 5 or more) and build circuits with them.
don't know how many sammy lcd displays I fished out of the dumpster that were failed only because of using fake capacitors instead of real brand-name ones.
sammy has been living on the edge like this for decades.
serves them right that it finally caught up with them. I hope they suffer long and hard as a business. I seriously hope they do. would be some cosmic justice for them to lose a lot of market and re-think their cheap-ass parts supplier shenanigans.
I would feel sorry for a small startup. I feel no sympathy for a giant like sammy who fucks up and finally gets public anger in return.
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
(Score: 2, Informative) by Sarasani on Tuesday October 11 2016, @04:27AM
they are THE cheap-assed company of the decade. find the cheapest parts, many of them fake (fake china caps that last a year or two instead of 5 or more) and build circuits with them.
In fairness, has this not been a global trend affecting nearly every industry out there? Planned obsolescence has been going on for many decades. It is getting increasingly harder to find quality products that will not break before their time is up.