All of the remaining Galaxy Note 7 units that haven’t been returned yet will have their charging capabilities disabled, Samsung said on Friday. While the measure will only be implemented in the company’s home country of South Korea, it will follow a series of similar actions that Samsung already introduced in other territories, all of which were meant to discourage and prevent people from using the faulty Android phablet that was discontinued last fall. Among other things, the Seoul-based consumer electronics manufacturer already limited the battery capacity of some Galaxy Note 7 units and prevented others from accessing mobile networks. The software update that will prevent the remaining devices in the country from charging is expected to roll out in the near future, likely before summer. Samsung said that approximately 97 percent of all purchased Galaxy Note 7 units in South Korea have already been returned to the company, implying that the measure outlined above will also be the firm’s final attempt to convince consumers to return the smartphones.
The Galaxy Note 7 initially launched last September to much fanfare, but reports about the phablet catching fire and exploding have followed soon after. While Samsung initially pulled the device from the market and relaunched it following an internal investigation, the replacement units ended up being no safer than the initial batch of the devices, resulting in the company issuing an unprecedented second recall and ultimately discontinuing its flagship handset. Samsung subsequently revealed that both of its battery-making divisions were at fault for the entire ordeal, but noted that it won’t scrap the Galaxy Note lineup due to the debacle. Instead, Samsung already confirmed that the Galaxy Note 8 will be released in the second half of the year, presumably in late summer or early fall.
In the meantime, the Seoul-based tech giant is under significant pressure to make amends for the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco with the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus. Samsung’s upcoming pair of Android flagships will be unveiled in New York City next Wednesday, March 29. According to recent rumors, both the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus will hit the market in the second half of April.