Both the original battery for the Note 7 and the one used in replacement devices following the initial recall had different but specific design flaws that increased the risk of the positive and negative electrodes coming into contact, according to Samsung. To prevent similar problems in the future, the company is implementing a new eight-point battery safety check.
Samsung has also created a Battery Advisory Group of chemistry, engineering and technology experts to help the company maintain “a clear and objective perspective on battery safety and innovation.”
Although Samsung assured consumers that it takes full responsibility for marketing the exploding phones, it placed blame for the issue squarely on battery manufacturers. The agencies that Samsung commissioned to investigate the fires agreed that the battery — not Samsung’s design — was the source of the problem.
The announcement came over three months after Samsung scrapped the Galaxy Note 7, cutting a massive $5.3 billion from its operating profits in one of the most spectacular tech fails in modern history.
The transparency in Samsung’s announcement was unusual for a company accustomed to keeping its processes hush-hush, but it was also an important step in regaining consumers’ trust. Despite the Note 7 debacle, Samsung is committed to pushing forward with its Note series, according to the company’s mobile chief, D.J. Koh.
“I will bring back a better, safer and very innovative Note 8,” Koh said. Samsung typically launches its Note phones in August or September.
With its large screen and digital stylus, the Note family is at the forefront of Samsung’s cutting-edge technology. The smartphones have legions of faithful followers, in a category Samsung itself pioneered. And before reports of the Note 7 catching fire and exploding started surfacing, that model was on track to be a grand slam. That’s momentum Samsung will want to recapture with the Note 8, stat.
Source: Fortune