Samsung is currently in hot water due to the problems facing the company's Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. The device has been automatically catching fire, and has already caused several damages and injuries in the United States.
As expected, such an issue would have called for a lawsuit, and that is exactly what is about to happen. A man is now suing Samsung after his Galaxy Note 7 exploded and caused severe third-degree burns on his leg and thigh, and second-degree burns on his fingers.
The victim, known as Jonathan Strobel, claims that his thigh had been burnt so badly that the injury was almost the size of the device itself.
This is a huge blow for Samsung because the Galaxy Note 7 was doing very well after release. Samsung was even forced to boost production, but these incidents have no doubt cast a shadow on the company's success.
Other folks have reported similar, albeit less serious, incidents of explosions involving the Galaxy Note 7.
The big question right now: how will this problem affect Samsung's future and the sales of the Galaxy Note 7, as well as those of other Galaxy smartphones and tablets?
Negative issues, such as this PR nightmare for Samsung, tend to generate more buzz than positive ones. The negatives also tend to be more easily remembered, and we expect these explosions to be talked about for quite a long time. Word of mouth is also another factor, and no doubt consumers, as seen in various internet forums, will be telling others not to purchase a Galaxy Note 7 because of the incidents they have heard about on the news.
These problems will likely affect sales of the Note 7 and push some consumers to adopt the new Apple iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus instead.
While Apple's launch of the new smartphones have been planned months ago, the unveiling comes at a time when rival Samsung is going through a rough patch. Thus, it is the perfect time to catch the attention of fans of Samsung and transform them into longtime Apple fans.
When Samsung releases its next batch of Galaxy devices in 2017, consumers might still have lingering feelings of whether the new handsets would explode. Uncertainty over the products' performance and quality would remain. And chances are, consumers might not want to take that risk by again purchasing from Samsung.
They might decide to buy a different brand of Android handset, or just move over to an iPhone.
