Samsung halts sales of Galaxy Note 7 smartphone over exploding battery risk
South Korean electronics giant announces what amounts to its first global product recall, and says it is aware of 35 cases of the phones catching fire while charging. China, Hong Kong unaffected
Samsung suspended sales of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone on Friday, just two weeks after the flagship phone’s launch, after finding batteries of some of the gadgets exploded while they were charging.
Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung’s mobile business, said customers who had already bought Note 7s would be able to swap them for new smartphones, regardless of when they purchased them.
Samsung is issuing what amounts to its first global recall of a product because it has not found ways to specify exactly which variants of the smartphone may endanger users.
Note 7s are being pulled from shelves in 10 countries, including South Korea and the United States.
China, where the Note 7 went on sale on Thursday, is not affected by the sales suspension. The company said it used a battery made by another supplier for the Note 7 sold in China. The Hong Kong launch of the smartphone went ahead on Friday.