Well, after months of speculation, Samsung has finally announced the results of its Galaxy Note 7 investigation. The official line: those fires were caused by two distinct battery flaws (just as a recent report suggested), not a hardware or software issue. The first flaw had to do with how the Note 7's original batteries were manufactured: their casings were too small to safely fit the electrode assembly inside, which led to short-circuiting.
Samsung's suppliers moved to replace those batteries with safer versions, but in their haste, a completely different production flaw was introduced. Welding defects inside the batteries made those supposedly safe replacements prone to short-circuiting and bursting into flames as well. In an pre-event interview with Recode, Samsung Electronics America president Tim Baxter pointed to this production flaw as the final nail in the Note 7's coffin.
"We believe if not for that manufacturing issue on the ramp [of the replacement battery], the Note 7 would still be on the market," he said.
Samsung Mobile chief DJ Koh said he "deeply" apologized to customers for the company's failures, and added that researchers worked to rule out wired and wireless charging, the phone's USB Type-C port and the iris-scanning feature as potential causes. Meanwhile, TUV Rheinland was also asked to see if the way the batteries were stored or transported could have played a role in the matter, but its response was a pretty definitive "no." In its bid to conclusively determine what happened to the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung also built a standalone testing lab, which it was all too eager to share photos of. They're a testament to how seriously Samsung took the investigation, but really, the damage has been done, and now the question on everyone's minds is what happens next.
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Samsung Galaxy Note 7 battery testing
Large-scale hardware test device
Going forward, Koh said, Samsung will enact a number of changes to its internal processes to avoid making the same mistake down the road. The plan so far: assigning teams to own the crucial final checks for each device's core components, and putting batteries through an eight-point test with steps ranging from visual inspection to x-ray inspection to full disassembly.
With this admission, Samsung hopes to put one of its most notable -- not to mention most public -- failures behind it. The next part of the company's plan is to (hopefully) dazzle would-be customers with next-generation flagship hardware, which will most likely be unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month. Early rumors suggest that the Galaxy S8 will pack an AI assistant that came to Samsung by way of an acquisition, and that there might be a larger version of the S8 meant in some way to replace the Note line.
It's still unclear how the events of the past few months will affect sales of Samsung's new flagship devices, but the company hasn't been hurting too badly as a result so far. While Samsung Mobile saw its operating profit tank in the wake of the Note 7 recalls, a recent Reuters piece suggests the whole of Samsung Electronics will actually report record profits this Tuesday thanks to strong chip sales.
Antennagate and an iPhone getting "lost" in a bar before its official launch aren't the only things the iPhone 4 is known for. Apple's 2010 flagship smartphone also blew up on an Australian flight several years ago, where flight attendants had to rush to douse the device before it could cause any major damage. The good news for Apple is that this issue was not widespread, so the embarrassment was short-lived. " style=padding-bottom:56%>Antennagate and an iPhone getting "lost" in a bar before its official launch aren't the only things the iPhone 4 is known for. Apple's 2010 flagship smartphone also blew up on an Australian flight several years ago, where flight attendants had to rush to douse the device before it could cause any major damage. The good news for Apple is that this issue was not widespread, so the embarrassment was short-lived. " data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/IHYztZlsBPeYIikyqBLqWA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/r2TdFKNIHxSRie69JNBsQQ--~B/aD0zNzE7dz02NjA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://s.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/434/854/7/S4348547/slug/l/iphone4fire-1.jpg class=caas-img data-headline="iPhone 4" data-caption="
Antennagate and an iPhone getting "lost" in a bar before its official launch aren't the only things the iPhone 4 is known for. Apple's 2010 flagship smartphone also blew up on an Australian flight several years ago, where flight attendants had to rush to douse the device before it could cause any major damage. The good news for Apple is that this issue was not widespread, so the embarrassment was short-lived.
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burning plastic from his MacBook Pro. Based on the pictures he sent us back then, it appears the MagSafe power cable was what caused the problem.
Years before that, in 2006, Apple recalled certain 15-inch MacBook Pros which came with faulty batteries. This was a proactive move more than anything though, since customers had yet to report any serious issues with their laptops. Seems as if Apple didn't want to have a situation like Dell's on its hands.
" style=padding-bottom:56%>burning plastic from his MacBook Pro. Based on the pictures he sent us back then, it appears the MagSafe power cable was what caused the problem.
Years before that, in 2006, Apple recalled certain 15-inch MacBook Pros which came with faulty batteries. This was a proactive move more than anything though, since customers had yet to report any serious issues with their laptops. Seems as if Apple didn't want to have a situation like Dell's on its hands.
Over the past few years, there have been many reports of Apple laptops catching fire unexpectedly. One of our readers, for example, said in 2009 that he woke up in the middle of the night to the smell of burning plastic from his MacBook Pro. Based on the pictures he sent us back then, it appears the MagSafe power cable was what caused the problem.
Years before that, in 2006, Apple recalled certain 15-inch MacBook Pros which came with faulty batteries. This was a proactive move more than anything though, since customers had yet to report any serious issues with their laptops. Seems as if Apple didn't want to have a situation like Dell's on its hands.
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it still hasn't revealed what caused it to be a major fire hazard. Last we heard, the company still had no idea what happened, and you know it wants to move past this international embarrassment as soon as possible. Let's just hope it gets to the root of the problem before it unveils its next big thing." style=padding-bottom:56%>it still hasn't revealed what caused it to be a major fire hazard. Last we heard, the company still had no idea what happened, and you know it wants to move past this international embarrassment as soon as possible. Let's just hope it gets to the root of the problem before it unveils its next big thing." data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/xUw6mHoUibPB432jcSLiOg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYzMQ--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/CcCIK2Nj44jgO_BHSBZ5Tw--~B/aD0xNjQyO3c9MjUwMDthcHBpZD15dGFjaHlvbg--/https://s.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/434/853/4/S4348534/slug/l/samsung-elec-smartphones-1.jpg class=caas-img data-headline="Galaxy Note 7" data-caption="Nearly three months after Samsung had to end production of its latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy Note 7, it still hasn't revealed what caused it to be a major fire hazard. Last we heard, the company still had no idea what happened, and you know it wants to move past this international embarrassment as soon as possible. Let's just hope it gets to the root of the problem before it unveils its next big thing.">
2.8 million washing machines in 2016. Apparently the affected top-loading appliances were exploding in people's homes, with owners reporting excessive vibrations that resulted "in the top separating from the washer."" style=padding-bottom:56%>2.8 million washing machines in 2016. Apparently the affected top-loading appliances were exploding in people's homes, with owners reporting excessive vibrations that resulted "in the top separating from the washer."" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/wePRtFXLBLunVvdCz2R1uA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/T3OejFJaR.zSyrFPX448tw--~B/aD03MjA7dz0xMjgwO2FwcGlkPXl0YWNoeW9u/https://s.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/434/854/5/S4348545/slug/l/samwashing-1.jpg class=caas-img data-headline="Samsung washing machines" data-caption="
As if things weren't bad enough for Samsung with the Note 7 blowing up, the Korean tech giant also had to recall 2.8 million washing machines in 2016. Apparently the affected top-loading appliances were exploding in people's homes, with owners reporting excessive vibrations that resulted "in the top separating from the washer."
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iPhone 4
Antennagate and an iPhone getting "lost" in a bar before its official launch aren't the only things the iPhone 4 is known for. Apple's 2010 flagship smartphone also blew up on an Australian flight several years ago, where flight attendants had to rush to douse the device before it could cause any major damage. The good news for Apple is that this issue was not widespread, so the embarrassment was short-lived.
