Samsung officially started the recall process of their latest flagship, the Galaxy Note 7 last week. When the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) worked with the South Korean tech company to get the product recalled and work on a plan for users to trade in their defective device for a new one, that’s a bit cooler. Replacements are set to start going out on Wednesday, September 21st. Although some users are reportedly getting their replacements already. Good on Samsung for over-delivering here. In South Korea, Samsung’s homeland, sales are beginning again on September 28th, but that’s not the case here in the US.
According to a report out of Venture Beat, the company is planning to resume sales of the Galaxy Note 7 on October 21st. Quite a bit later than it was initially expected. Many expected the company to resume sales in the US shortly after South Korea, since the US is one of their larger markets. This report mentions that this timetable is only for carriers in the US. And mentions that it may be a bit different for other regions. Similar to how it is for South Korea and the US. Also important to remember that these are for new hardware sales and not exchanges for those that already bought a Galaxy Note 7. Those should be done with by then.
The Galaxy Note 7 has had a pretty troubling month or so on the market. After being announced in August and then released later that month, and reviewers giving it glowing reviews as well as customers loving the device. Everyone thought all is well, and that Samsung did indeed beat the iPhone 7 to market. Then reports of Galaxy Note 7’s exploding began to surface. And they haven’t stopped. At the time of the recall, 92 reported Galaxy Note 7’s had exploded in the US alone. With some being responsible for damage. In Australia, one Galaxy Note 7 was responsible for some major damage in a hotel room. In the US, its said that the device set a car and a house on fire, amidst other damage. Now with the Galaxy Note 7 being replaced, one has to wonder if the damage has already been done to this device’s image, and if Samsung will still sell a ton of them in the future.