The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was first recalled back in September, after numerous reports of the device exploding started to emerge from all over the world. After investigating the cause of the fires, Samsung put the blame on faulty batteries which were produced its own subsidiary, Samsung SDI. The South Korean company then started sending out replacement units which contained purportedly “safe” batteries, manufactured by ATL. However, Samsung started getting reports that the new replacement units were catching on fire too, and that was it, Samsung scrapped the Galaxy Note 7 and has asked all owners to return their units to their respective point of purchase for a refund.
Now, it has been reported that when the first batch of smartphones started exploding, Samsung engineers were urged to quickly identify the problem so that the smartphone could be put back on the market. However, the engineers were unable to replicate the defect and in the end, put the blame on the battery, and Park Chul-wan, the former director of the Center for Advanced Batteries at the Korea Electronics Technology Institute has said that he thinks that was nothing wrong with the batteries in the first place. Now, with replacement units bursting into flames, Samsung is once again investigating and no conclusion has been reached yet. There has been a report that the glass curve design of the Galaxy Note 7 is to be blamed, but Samsung has yet to confirm it. Park has mentioned that he talked to multiple Samsung engineers regarding the fires, and none seem to know the cause.
As to why the company decided to kill the Galaxy Note 7, it is likely due to the fact that the company is trying to save its reputation and to secure the future of the company. Eric Schiffer, who is the chairman of Reputation Management Consultants, has said that this move by Samsung is a hard choice, but an intelligent one as it has saved their brand and prevented what could have been a complete disaster for the company, after building up a reputation of being one of the top smartphone manufacturers in recent years.