Why Note 7?

What makes the Note 7 different: Samsung may have accidentally squeezed its batteries harder than it should.

“The defect was revealed when several contributing factors happened simultaneously, which included sub-optimized assembly process that created variations of tension and exposed electrodes due to insufficient insulation tape,” a Samsung representative tells CNET.

Or, in plain English: the thin plastic layer that separates the positive and negative sides of the battery got punctured, became the shortest route for electricity to zap across the battery (that’s why they call it a “short-circuit”), and became a huge fire risk.

What does pressure have to do with it? MIT materials chemistry Professor Don Sadoway explains that today’s cell phone batteries are made by literally pressing together a stack of battery components — and that battery companies are under pressure (no pun intended) to cram in as much battery capacity as possible.

Update, September 15 at 2:00p.m. PT: The CPSC has officially approved the Galaxy Note 7 recall and exchange program in the United States, and Samsung says new Note 7 smartphones with safe batteries will be available at “most retail locations no later than September 21, 2016.” We’ve updated this story to reflect that.

Update, October 10 at 1:31p.m. PT: As many as five of Samsung’s replacement Note 7 smartphones have also allegedly caught fire. All US carriers have stopped selling the phone. Samsung and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission are investigating.

Update, October 10 at 4:21p.m. PT: Samsung and the CPSC have officially advised that all Galaxy Note 7 phones — new and replacement — should be shut down.

Latest News

All Note 7 Production has been ceased by the Korean Tech Giant
“We recently readjusted the production volume for thorough investigation and quality control, but putting consumer safety as top priority, we have reached a final decision to halt production of Galaxy Note 7s,” the company said.
“For the benefit of consumers’ safety, we stopped sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7 and have consequently decided to stop production.”

‘Brand damage’
Samsung could suffer “a considerable loss of consumer faith,” said Greg Roh at HMC Investment Securities.
“If it’s once, it could be taken as a mistake. But for Samsung, the same thing happened twice with the same model,” he said.
“The reason consumers prefer brands like Samsung and Apple is because of product reliability. So in this case, brand damage is inevitable and it will be costly for Samsung to turn that around again.”

Just a month or so after getting their hands on Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Note7 phones, thousands of consumers have had to exchange them for new ones this month, in a worldwide recall of the phones sparked by incidents in which they caught fire. 

A few of these consumers even had to exchange the phones twice – after replacements were found to overheat and cause rapid drain of power while charging.

Two consumers told The Straits Times that they had to swopped their phones again over the weekend. 10 consumers posted similar complaints about their newly exchanged phones on Samsung Mobile Singapore’s Facebook page.

After a software update last Thursday, its screen showed an range of rainbow colours. The device also took more than 7 hours reach full charge.

“This sounds ridiculously long as the phones are supposed to be equipped with fast-charging capability,” she said, noting the original Note7 took about an hour to fully charge. She returned to Suntec last Saturday to exchange the phone for a second time. “Even this set feels extremely hot when charging,” she added.

Retiree Herman Chia, 64, also returned to Suntec last Saturday after his first exchange set started to overheat. “The screen turned red at the edges when I swiped up and down,” said Mr Chia, who was loaned a Galaxy S7 Edge while Samsung examines his Note7.

Senior lecturer Tracy Loh of the communications and new media department at National University of Singapore said Samsung should allow a refund or exchange the phones for another item of similar value. “Giving out replacement phones that have similar problems as the defective phones can unravel the good crisis management strategies that Samsung has in place so far,” she said.

What a disappointment in Samsung phones. Lets just hope it wont need any repairs anytime soon.