The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 replacement units will reportedly sport a green battery indicator to let everyone around know that it's safe.
The Note 7 has been a hot topic since its release last month due to reports of the device exploding. Looking further into the issue, Samsung identified battery cell issues as the cause of the device's exploding behavior.
To date, there are more than 70 reported cases of the Note 7 exploding in the U.S. alone. One of the cases reported involved a 6-year-old whose hands got burned while another was of that of a family car set afire when a Note 7 exploded while it was charging inside the vehicle.
It was seen as a big enough safety hazard that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a warning to discourage owners from turning on and charging their Note 7 units on board aircrafts. The FAA also advised device owners not to stow the Note 7 in any of their checked baggage.
Responding to the reports, Samsung issued a global recall for the Note 7 units last Sept. 2. More recently, Samsung announced that its proposed exchange program was approved by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and that the replacement units will be in most retail locations by Sept. 21.
To avoid confusion and distinguish the new replacement units, the bottom of the boxes will have a blue "S" inside a white circle that is enclosed in a black rectangle. But while this is indeed an effective way of informing the device owners who'll come in and exchange their units for a new one, how will the rest of the world know that the device is a replacement unit and thereby, safe?
The thing to watch out for is the battery indicator. It's located atop the display, just right of the front-facing camera. For older Note 7 units, which include the exploding ones, the battery indicator is white. The new replacement units, on the other hand, will have a green one, according to a ZDNet report citing Samsung.
According to the company's press release, Galaxy Note 7 units sold from August 2016 until Sept. 15 are qualified for the exchange programs. The devices must be exchanged from the point of purchase.
Note 7 owners have the option to either get a full refund or exchange for other Samsung handhelds if they don't want the replacement units. Affected owners are encouraged to visit Samsung's page for the exchange program.
Samsung is reported to have produced 2.5 million of the said smartphone and sold roughly 400,000 Galaxy Note 7 handhelds prior to the recall.
