Time to Bank On Galaxy Note 8
Samsung Electronics announced on January 23 the results of an investigation into the reasons for its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones catching fire, which led to a recall of the item worldwide as well as recurrence prevention measures.
The company made public the conclusions of the monthslong probe in a press conference to be held at the multipurpose room of the Samsung Electronics Building in Seocho-dong, Seoul, at 10 am on January 23 (Monday) by its mobile division head Koh Dong-jin.
Koh said the main cause of some Galaxy Note 7 smartphones catching fire was battery problem.
"Our investigation, as well as investigations conducted by three independent industry organizations, concluded that the batteries were found to be the cause of the Note 7 incidents," Samsung said.
For the past several months, Samsung Electronics has focused its company-wide capabilities to find the accurate cause of the fire and come up with the recurrence prevention measures shortly after its decision on October 11 last year to permanently halt production and sales of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone.
Some media have speculated that the problem may lie in various causes ranging from a glitch in the manufacturing process of phone batteries to an overload of the iris recognition sensor. The Wall Street Journal of the U.S. reported on the 20th (local time) that the defects of batteries produced by Samsung SDI and Hong Kong-based Amperex Technology Ltd. (ATL) were the reasons why the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones overheated and caught fire.
With the announcement, Samsung Electronics will shake off the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco and more actively reveal the next-generation strategic product “Galaxy S8.” Currently, the company is reportedly testing Galaxy S8 prototypes. As Samsung Electronics has completed the probe of the Galaxy Note 7, it is expected to unveil the Galaxy S8 as early as at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) to be held in Barcelona, Spain, next month or a separate event in March, and release the product in April.