It seems that Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 just wasn’t meant to be. The phone which could have challenged everyone else for the title of the best Android flagship of 2016 has now been permanently discontinued as Samsung’s ambitions quite literally went up in flames. It’s been almost two months since we’ve first heard reports of Galaxy Note 7 units being a fire hazard and the South Korean tech giant still doesn’t know why its latest flagship is liable to catch fire, melt, and sometimes explode in seemingly random situations. That’s obviously a huge issue given how Samsung proclaimed it managed to identify and eliminate the problem in just a couple of weeks and eagerly resumed sales of the device which potentially placed at least hundreds of thousands of people in danger.
However, the fact that Galaxy Note 7 turned out to be a fire hazard isn’t the biggest issue as far as industry experts are concerned. As reported by NPR, most of them agree that mistakes can happen and it’s not like Samsung hasn’t been putting out fantastic Android devices for years now so the company obviously earned a lot of goodwill from both customers and critics alike. However, the smartphone maker is now under fire for its lack of transparency regarding the entire ordeal. While the initial recall was seemingly handled rather efficiently and relatively transparently, its results put Samsung’s previous actions under scrutiny. Namely, when announcing that it was resuming Galaxy Note 7 sales, Samsung asserted that it has identified the faulty battery element of the device and assured us that replacement units are perfectly safe. As we all know how that turned out, the South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer is now facing accusations about prioritizing profits over customer safety and not being transparent enough.
NPR reports that a high-ranking Samsung official recently revealed that the company still hasn’t released an official version of the story because it’s yet to determine what went wrong and executives “don’t want to say something too early.” Not surprisingly, that statement was met with harsh criticism from the industry. Avi Greengart, Current Analysis’ device expert commented that the fact Samsung still isn’t saying anything is a problem that’s almost as significant as the company’s lack of understanding of the original issue. Whether this drama hasn’t yet been concluded because Samsung is unable to identify the problem or simply doesn’t want to disclose it remains to be seen but more information will hopefully follow soon so that we’re finally able to put this unfortunate episode to bed.