South Korean electronics giant Samsung, has suffered one of the biggest and most expensive product scandals in recent history. Its latest smartphone flagship, the Galaxy Note 7, rolled out to much *fanfareon Aug 2, but had to be recalled in several markets within mere weeks. Dozens of buyers around the world complained of severe overheating in the phone’s battery, causing fires and even explosions in some cases. The complaints led Samsung to announce a recall, offering replacement handsets with *upgraded batteries in the US, or software *patches in its home market of South Korea.

In China, Samsung *assured consumers that Note 7 units sold in the country had a different battery supplier, and were therefore safe from overheating. Despite some Chinese Note 7 owners reporting overheating, Samsung insisted all units sold in China were safe. However, China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said on Oct 11 that Samsung is to recall Galaxy Note 7 phones on the Chinese mainland. Users may replace their recalled phones with other Samsung smartphones or get a full refund, the administration said.
In the US, where supposedly safe replacements were issued, some exchanged phones continued to suffer from issues, with some units overheating and catching fire. Samsung eventually announced a second recall and permanent discontinuation of the Note 7 model on Oct 11, offering full refunds or exchanges to alternative models. Asides from the huge blow to its reputation globally – the effects of which are yet to be seen – investment bank Credit Suisse estimates that Samsung could lose as much as $17 billion (114 billion yuan) in revenue following this *fiasco.

SUki
2018-5-12

 

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