Samsung announced a global recall of the Galaxy Note 7 after reports that several smartphones exploded while charging.
The recall comes after Samsung delayed shipments of the Galaxy Note 7—which was poised to be a big competitor for the upcoming iPhone 7—following reports that the phones spontaneously exploded. Reports surfaced Thursday night that Samsung planned the recall, which Samsung later confirmed. It has discontinued sales of the Galaxy Note 7 globally for the time being.
According to Samsung, there have been 35 cases of exploding smartphones that have occurred globally as of Sept. 1. After conducting its own investigation, it discovered an issue with a battery cell. Samsung is still working to identify the batteries affected.
Customers who already own a Galaxy Note 7 will be provided with a new device “over the coming weeks,” although Samsung has yet to provide details as to what this will entail.
Samsung’s statement in its entirely has been included below.
Samsung is committed to producing the highest quality products and we take every incident report from our valued customers very seriously. In response to recently reported cases of the new Galaxy Note7, we conducted a thorough investigation and found a battery cell issue.
To date (as of September 1) there have been 35 cases that have been reported globally and we are currently conducting a thorough inspection with our suppliers to identify possible affected batteries in the market. However, because our customers’ safety is an absolute priority at Samsung, we have stopped sales of the Galaxy Note7.
For customers who already have Galaxy Note7 devices, we will voluntarily replace their current device with a new one over the coming weeks.
We acknowledge the inconvenience this may cause in the market but this is to ensure that Samsung continues to deliver the highest quality products to our customers. We are working closely with our partners to ensure the replacement experience is as convenient and efficient as possible.