As rumours are flying around about how Samsung will eventually mark safe Galaxy Note 7 devices, it appears the company may be considering a new way to differentiate the old models from the new ones. According to the latest report, Samsung will update the software on newly manufactured Galaxy Note 7 units so that the battery icon will appear as green instead of white in the hope of reassuring Galaxy Note 7 owners, as well as airlines and other companies, that the device is safe to use.
Now although the report claims the battery icon will appear green, it’s unclear if this will be at all times or only when the device is charging. As well as this, it’s also unclear if it will appear on devices sold outside of South Korea, or if this will be an exclusive update for this market. This is not Samsung’s first efforts at distinguishing the old from the new batch of devices. Only earlier this week did it emerge that the company was planning on limiting the battery charge to 60% on dangerous Galaxy Note 7 models via a change that will be implemented in the next software update. According to Chinese quality inspection authorities, the exploding Galaxy Note 7 units are due to a fault in the manufacturing process of the batteries, which feature a separator between electrodes that appears to be thinner than usual ones, which eventually leads to an explosion if the battery gets too hot when charging.
Over the course of the past week, a number of companies are banning the use of Samsung’s latest flagship onboard planes, buses or trains due to the fear of the battery exploding. Obviously, Samsung is trying its best to replace all Galaxy Note 7’s and avoid as many device bans as possible while keeping its customers happy, but many are suggesting that the company simply rename the safe device “Galaxy Note 7 S” as many companies feel it’s just easier to ban all Galaxy Note 7 devices instead of checking each smartphone to make sure it is safe. However, with over 2.5 million devices manufactured and over 400,000 sold, Samsung still has a long way to go before it can build up its reputation once again and replace all devices.