Galaxy Note 7 battery supplier Samsung SDI factory in China catches fire

By tech2 News Staff /  09 Feb 2017 , 09:23

The factory of Samsung SDI, one of the battery suppliers for the dangerously explosive Samsung Galaxy Note 7, caught fire in China. Pictures of the fire were circulated on Weibo, a social networking and micro-blogging platform known as the Chinese alternative to Twitter. The fire was relatively minor, was at a waste disposal facility, and did not affect production, according to a report in Bloomberg.

Samsung SDI was responsible for providing about 60 percent of the batteries to the discontinued Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, the other supplier being Amperex Technology Ltd. Following the explosions of the smartphones, Samsung SDI investigated their batteries in other smartphones, and found them to be safe. Samsung SDI is expected to provide at least a portion of the batteries in future Samsung phones. An executive of the company said that the issue was restricted to just the batteries used in the Galaxy Note 7.

Samsung recently revealed the results of its investigation into the cause of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fires. The company identified the battery as the problematic component that caused the fires. Independent investigations have showed that the body of the smartphone, and its curvature, left little space for natural expansion and contraction of the batteries, compressing them when charged and leading to the fires. South Korea also investigated the issue, and is fortifying the regulations for lithium-ion batteries, in the interest of consumer safety.

Samsung still has more Galaxy Note 7 units in use than LG V20 and OnePlus 3T combined

The burnt Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in an aircraft

By tech2 News Staff /  20 Dec 2016 , 18:13

Samsung’s mobile division had a good start this year with the Galaxy S7 and the S7 Edge. However, their flagship phablet, the Note 7 turned to be a disaster as it faulty batteries that started blowing up. The Note 7 was recalled and killed about two months back. Samsung also took further action by pushing updates to all the Note 7s which restricted the smartphone to a certain amount of battery charge.

While the company had recently confirmed that about 90 percent of the units have been taken off the market, a research firm called Apteligent has reported that as of last week, the number of Galaxy Note 7 units in use were more than the LG V20 and OnePlus 3T combined, which also a few units less than the Moto Z. This means that the 10 percent that Samsung has not managed to pull out, is definitely a large number.

Samsung still has a lot to do if it wants to completely clean up the mess caused by the Note 7.  There is obviously a big difference between how many units were on the market compared to now, but there is also the factor of units sold in the grey markets and through other illegal means. Hopefully Samsung will fully clean up all the Note 7 units by pushing an update that would brick the device.

Samsung Galaxy S8 may launch on Feb 26, 2017 as specifications leak online

Image Credit: REUTERS

By tech2 News Staff /  26 Oct 2016 , 18:05

Samsung is currently working hard on the next flagship device, Samsung S8 after the whole Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. The company has faced a lot of flak for the exploding batteries even after the global recall.

Airline companies all over the world in addition to the aviation authorities of different countries have banned people from taking Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on the flight. The company even sent fire-proof boxes for users to return the devices safely.

It looks like the company is planning to leave the Note 7 issue behind and try to release the Galaxy S8 on time. It is expected to launch on February 26, 2017. A teaser poster was posted on Twitter by user Ricciolo1 for the “Samsung Unpacked” event.

Image Credit: Twitter.com/Ricciolo1

In addition to the leak of the event launch poster, a video was posted on the Chinese micro-blogging website, Weibo detailing the specs of Samsung Galaxy S8. S8 will sport a 5.5-inch 4K Super AMOLED Display with 806-ppi pixel density while being powered by Exynos 8895 processor. The device will be equipped with 6GB RAM along with a 16MP and 8MP dual camera setup on the back.

According to reports by ETNews Korea, S8 will do away with the signature home button and the processor will be manufactured using the newly 10-nm manufacturing process. Samsung will be producing Qualcomm Snapdragon 830 using the same process so we can expect to see the second variant with Snapdragon 830.

However, we are not sure if the company has started its work because a recent report stated the Samsung engineers would start work on the next flagship after two weeks. During the two weeks, the engineers will work on eliminating the battery flaw that plagued Samsung Galaxy Note 7. This comes right after Samsung offered a new upgrade program to the customers who brought Samsung Note 7 in South Korea.

Samsung engineers still working to find Note 7 fault; to delay Galaxy S8 by two weeks: Report

Image: Hui Renjie

By tech2 News Staff /  24 Oct 2016 , 17:10

The Note 7, once destined to be the top selling high-end device from Samsung, will definitely go down go into the company’s history as the most talked about device, but for all the wrong reasons . The company probably rushed into decisions without concrete evidence about what had gone wrong with the device. A WSJ report points out how the Galaxy S8 could be delayed by two weeks, citing a person from the S8 development team, as its engineers still scramble to get to the bottom of the whole Note 7 fiasco.

According to the report, the newly appointed mobile chief DJ Koh thought the company knew enough to recall and replace 2.5 million units, and was backed by Lee Jae-yong. Probably, it’s this decision, without getting into the depth of the matter that is causing the company all this grief. It was only weeks after the recall and the replaced batch bursting into flames that Samsung realised it hadn’t reached the root cause of the problem.

A Samsung spokesperson told the news site, “The company worked quickly with regulators and took immediate action when problems arose with the phone. We recognised that we did not correctly identify the issue the first time and remain committed to finding the root cause. Our top priority remains the safety of our customers and retrieving 100 percent of the Galaxy Note 7 devices in the market.”

The flammable Note 7, the big recall and then the decision to kill the device, has put the other high-end devices from the company to the forefront. For instance, Samsung is wooing audiences with alternatives like the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, while trying to combat competitor such as Pixel and iPhone 7, among others. This may not go on for long as the  company will have to dish out something new and is said to be working on the flagship that is most likely to be launched in February dubbed Galaxy S8, which is also delayed due to the Note 7 issues. Now, all we can say is a slight delay is better than shipping devices with safety issues.

Meanwhile, the recall is believed to cost Samsung $5 billion or even more, which including the lost sales.

Galaxy Note 7 troubles worsen as 527 South Koreans to sue Samsung

Image Credit: REUTERS

  24 Oct 2016 , 14:14

Hundreds of South Korean Galaxy Note 7 smartphone owners were preparing Monday to file a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics over the fire-prone device. Attorney Peter Young-Yeel Ko, head of the Harvest Law Firm said Monday that 527 consumers want Samsung to compensate them for the costs to visit shops to exchange their phones, for the hours they had to wait while transferring data and for psychological harm from using a hazardous product.

His clients include a consumer who claims to have lost thousands of pictures from a family vacation and another who drove eight hours round-trip to return the phone. Samsung recalled the Galaxy Note 7 phone because it tends to overheat. It recalled replacement Note 7s after finding they also were prone to catch fire, the company stopped making or selling them.

The company did not immediately respond to called and emailed requests for comment. Ko, a longtime Samsung phone user, said he had to visit a mobile shop three times after buying the Note 7 in August, first to get the battery checked when reports of the devices catching fire first surfaced. He went back to get a replacement phone after Samsung’s first recall and again after the company’s second Note 7 recall.

Apparently in response to criticism over its handling of the recalls, Samsung announced Monday that Note 7 owners who switch to Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge smartphones can get 50 percent discounts on upgrades to Galaxy S8 or Note 8 smartphones next year if they return the S7 or S7 Edges.

Samsung earlier offered 30,000 won ($26) worth of coupons for the Samsung mobile shopping mall to all Note 7 users. Those switching to other Samsung phones were offered 70,000 won ($62) worth of coupons.

Kim Chae Yong, who joined the lawsuit, said he spent nearly $100 on gas and highway fees to return a Note 7 phone after the first recall. Kim drove about 300 kilometres (185 miles) from his home in Cheonan to Busan, where he had bought the Note 7. “I feel betrayed,” the 26-year-old plant engineer said. “I am angry and I don’t ever want to use it again.”

Associated Press

Samsung Electronics in talks with LG Chem for smartphone battery supply says Nikkei

  21 Oct 2016 , 10:42

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is in talks with LG Chem Ltd to supply batteries for its new smartphones, the Nikkei newspaper reported, citing sources.

Samsung, the world’s biggest smartphone maker, scrapped production of the fire-prone Note 7 and said it would take a hit to its operating profit of about $3 billion over the next two quarters as a result.

The company had blamed faulty batteries for the original problem in its flagship device, but has given no indication about the cause of the overheating seen in the replacements.

The companies are discussing ways to supply batteries to Samsung’s new smartphones starting next year, the report said. (s.nikkei.com/2ew8B9f)

Samsung’s subsidiary, Samsung SDI Co Ltd, is the dominant battery supplier for the Note 7, supplying around 70 percent of the batteries globally, according to analyst estimates.

Samsung and LG Chem were not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours.

Reuters

Apple iPhone 7 hits South Korean stores in Note 7’s absence

  21 Oct 2016 , 14:24

The Apple iPhone 7 went on sale in South Korea, seeking to fill a void left by arch-rival Samsung on its home turf following a damaging recall fiasco over the Note 7 smartphone.

The South Korean electronics giant discontinued the Note 7 — one of its key iPhone challengers — on October 11 following reports that replacements for combustible models were also catching fire.

The decision is set to cost Samsung billions in lost profits, and there are already signs that Apple is reaping some of the benefits.

An official at mobile carrier Korea Telecom (KT) said the first batch of 50,000 iPhone 7s they put up for pre-order a week ago sold out in 15 minutes. “I would attribute part of that to the Note 7 effect,” said the official, who declined to be identified because he was not authorised to talk to the media.

Customer defection is one of Samsung’s biggest concerns, especially as the Note 7 was specifically aimed at taking on the iPhone in the premium handset market. In the hope of retaining customer loyalty, Samsung had offered Note 7 users a 70,000 won ($60) phone bill credit if they swapped their faulty phones with another Samsung handset.

The half-dozen customers buying the new iPhone at a KT store in central Seoul on Friday were all long-time Apple users who had pre-ordered their handsets. Office worker Lee Kyung-Hee, 34, said she had moved fast when the pre-order service opened, fearing a surge of interest from unhappy Note 7 owners.

“I set an alarm and was very quick,” Lee said. In South Korea, retail prices for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus start from 869,000 won and 1.02 million won respectively, for their basic 32GB models.

AFP

Potential class action lawsuit against Samsung in US over exploding Note 7

Image Credit: REUTERS

  19 Oct 2016 , 08:55

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s U.S. unit is facing a proposed class action lawsuit from three Galaxy Note 7 customers, according to a filing in a federal court in Newark, New Jersey. The complaint against Samsung Electronics America Inc seeks to represent a nationwide class of Note 7 customers in Nevada, Pennsylvania and California.The world’s top smartphone maker last week permanently ended sales of the fire-prone Note 7 smartphone less than two months after its launch.

The world’s top smartphone maker last week permanently ended sales of the fire-prone Note 7 smartphone less than two months after its launch. Samsung announced the recall of 2.5 million Note 7s in early September following numerous reports of the phones catching fire in what could be one of the costliest product safety failures in tech history.

A spokeswoman for Samsung Electronics America declined to comment on the pending litigation. The complaint, filed on October 16, alleges that the consumers discontinued using the phones after the recall, but were asked to wait days or weeks for a replacement phone.

The complaint states that the consumers continued to incur monthly device and plan charges for phones they could not use. This comes after the company opened up Samsung Galaxy Note 7 exchange and return stalls on airports from South Korea to United states of America. The USA has made carrying Note 7 in flights, a federal crime to deter people from carrying the phones.

With inputs from Reuters

T-Mobile and AT&T to stall exchanges of Samsung Galaxy Note 7, pending investigations

  18 Oct 2016 , 11:31

US telecommunications firm AT&T and German rival T-Mobile announced Sunday they would halt exchanges of recalled Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphones pending investigations into reports of fire-prone batteries.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a recall on September 15 of the Galaxy Note 7, the newest smartphone by Samsung Electronics, and said they could be exchanged for a new version of the Galaxy Note 7 with a battery modified to prevent serious fires and burns.

Since then, there have been reports that the batteries in the new Galaxy Note 7 devices have overheated and been involved in fires.

“Based upon recent customer reports and ongoing investigations by Samsung, AT&T is no longer exchanging customers into new Galaxy Note 7s at this time while we wait for the outcome of the investigations,” AT&T said in a statement.

AT&T said it would still offer customers the option to exchange that device for another Samsung smartphone or other device of their choice.

T-Mobile said that it too was halting the exchanges, as well as sales.

“While Samsung investigates multiple reports of issues, T-Mobile is temporarily suspending all sales of the new Galaxy Note 7 and exchanges for replacement Galaxy Note 7 devices,” the company said in a statement.

AT&T said it had not been selling Galaxy Note 7s since Samsung and the CPSC instructed the company to stop selling Galaxy Note 7 devices purchased before September 15.

Samsung decided on September 2 to halt the sale of the Galaxy Note 7 and

Samsung Electronics to compensate component suppliers for Galaxy Note 7 parts

  18 Oct 2016 , 11:11

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Tuesday it will compensate component suppliers for the discontinued Galaxy Note 7 smartphones and consider giving them orders for other models to cushion the blow.

The world’s top smartphone maker said it would fully pay for unused Note 7 parts that have already been manufactured, compensate suppliers for unfinished components and pay for materials bought to make Note 7 parts.

“Samsung will determine the inventory levels for the partner companies and carry out compensation quickly,” the company said in a statement, without elaborating on how much it expected to pay.

The decision comes after some South Korean government and central bank officials voiced concerns about the potential impact of the Note 7 crisis on the domestic economy. A deputy finance minister said the fallout could hurt the economy during the third and fourth quarters of the year.

Though most of Samsung’s smartphones are manufactured overseas, the company is a key customer for many South Korean parts makers including Samsung Electronics affiliate Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co Ltd.

Samsung last week permanently ended sales of the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 smartphone less than two months after launch, a decision the company expects will cost $5.5 billion in operating profit from the third quarter of 2016 to the first quarter of 2017.

Reuters

Samsung Chromebook Pro leaks in all its metal glory; comes with 2K display and Pen Stylus

Image Credit: Samsung

By tech2 News Staff /  17 Oct 2016 , 10:27

New Chromebook models are just around the corner. Samsung has listed the latest model, Chromebook Pro, on its South Korean website. The latest Chromebook sports a 2K, 12.3-inch display with 3:2 aspect ratio along with effective resolution of 2400 x 1600.

Image Credit: Samsung

Samsung Chromebook comes with an all-aluminium design and a 360-degree hinge which effectively turns the device into a 2-in-1, allowing it to be used as an ultrabook as well as a large tablet. On the specs front, the Chromebook comes with a hexa-core processor with two Cortex-A72 and four Cortex-A53 cores, clocked at

US bans Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones from air travel

  15 Oct 2016 , 12:24

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone devices will be banned from aircraft in the United States starting on Saturday at noon EDT (1600 GMT) under an emergency order, regulators said on Friday after numerous reports of the devices catching fire.

Samsung has scrapped its flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphone on Tuesday because of incidents where the phones began smoking or caught fire, dealing a huge blow to its reputation. The decision came after reports of fires in replacement devices prompted a new round of warnings from regulators, phone carriers and airlines.

The order from the U.S. Transportation Department and other agencies bars owners from carrying on the devices or stowing them in checked baggage during flights.

“We recognise that banning these phones from airlines will inconvenience some passengers, but the safety of all those aboard an aircraft must take priority,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

“We are taking this additional step because even one fire incident inflight poses a high risk of severe personal injury and puts many lives at risk.”

The Transportation Department warned that passengers who packed the

Samsung Mobile Chief gets employee support despite Note 7 fiasco

By tech2 News Staff /  14 Oct 2016 , 09:40

The Galaxy Note 7 has been a major blow for Samsung. After repeated replacements of the flagship device, the company had no choice but to kill it. Samsung Electronics Mobile Chief, Koh Dong-jin is in bit of a soup and probably the first time since he started heading the division in 2014.

Today he pledged that he would at any cost find the exact cause of the issue to restore consumer trust so that they can use Samsung products in the future without any safety issues. He also admitted that he was frustrated over the past weeks due to the Note 7 crisis. He apologized and expressed his gratitude to the Samsung team for their support in the tough times.

Some Samsung employees have said to put up a series of posts on Samsung’s online message board to support the head, the company and to boost the morale of other employees.

Koh took over the position after his predecessor JK Shin stepped down. He is said to have played a vital role in when it comes to innovations like the S-Pen as well as Samsung Pay. There are also rumours that Samsung Group could remove him from his position following the fiasco. Thankfully Samsung Electronics’ shares rose 3 percent to 1,581,000 won in early morning trading on 13 October.

Samsung to lose $17 billion in sales as it permanently discontinues Galaxy Note 7

Image Credit: REUTERS

By tech2 News Staff /  11 Oct 2016 , 17:18

Samsung just announced that the company would permanently stop the production of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices. This is a massive blow to Samsung as it has decided to stop Galaxy Note 7 production despite doing a round of global recalls and replacements. The company had taken around three weeks to ship what it called ‘safe phones,’ after the first recall.

By ‘Safe’ the company meant that the new phones would not explode. But, within three weeks, we have heard about five cases of the ‘safe phones’ exploding. This is just the number that we know of through media reports. Samsung responded saying that the company is looking into the matter after the second case of replacement devices caught fire.

Soon after the report, the company announced that it will be halting the production of Note 7 to fix the matter. But, soon after the announcement the company issued a freshstatement to Al Jazeera stating that they will halt the production permanently:

“We recently readjusted the production volume for thorough investigation and quality control, but putting consumer safety as top priority, we have reached a final decision to halt production of Galaxy Note 7s.”

It is better for the company to move away from the Galaxy Note 7 and concentrate on Samsung Galaxy S8 next year. Earlier the company estimated a loss of $1 billion during the first recall but now the loss is estimated up to $17 billion in the sales as reported by Android Authority. According to the estimate by analysts, the company will lose $17 billion just in terms of sales, the loss related to the disposing the current Samsung Note 7 devices safely along with compensation.

The existing Note 7 users have been requested to switch off their devices and return them to the place of purchase. The company has instructed all the carriers to allow Note 7 users to switch the troubled device with any other device from Samsung or any other manufacturer.