If you’ve been waiting for Samsung (SSNLF)’s new Galaxy Note 7, you’re going to have to wait a little longer.
Upon release, the phone was met with praise by gadget reviewers and tech journalists (including this reporter). But now a serious safety concern has forced Samsung to temporarily suspend all sales of the phone. After 35 cases of exploding batteries reported globally prompted an internal investigation, Samsung announced this morning that it has officially taken the phone off the market until further notice.
For customers who already have the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung will introduce a trade-in program in the coming weeks.
Here is Samsung’s full statement:
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 are working with our carrier partners to announce the details of the U.S. product exchange program as soon as today.
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.
