It's no secret that Samsung currently sits at an extremely tight spot, in the center of a disastrous situation that it's trying to weather to this day. A constant flurry of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 units have infamously been exploding left and right, from what is reported to be the result of defective and malfunctioning batteries inside the devices.
The company has already launched an exchange program for affected customers, and the it's hell-bent on expediting the process. But now, as an added insult to injury, another case of an exploding Note 7 device has surfaced, long after the company's recall and exchange program started, which begs the question: has Samsung really solved the exploding problem?
A 25-year-old Chinese man ordered a Galaxy Note 7 online, and in less than 24 hours after receiving the smartphone, it burst into flames. According to Bloomberg, Hui Renjie, the affected customer, suffered minor injuries to two of his fingers and also burned his MacBook.
After the incident, a Samsung representative paid Renjie a visit, asking him to turn over the phone. But he did not do as told, as he didn't believe the company would give an elaborate cause behind the spontaneous combustion. He instead plans to publicize the incident.
"We are currently contacting the customer and will conduct a thorough examination of the device in question once we receive it," Samsung said in a statement.
Days after Note 7 devices were released to the public in August, several cases of the devices randomly bursting into flames began surfacing little by little. In early September, Samsung halted all sales of Note 7 devices, prompted by the glaringly numerous cases already circulating around news outlets. The company recalled more than 2.5 million Note 7 devices, and analysts have determined that it will cost Samsung $1 billion to $2 billion.
On Sept. 15 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a federal agency responsible for supervising product-related reports and alerts, prompted a formal recall of more than 1 million Note 7 devices shipped to the U.S. Elliot Kaye, chairman of CPSC, marked the Note 7 as a "serious fire hazard," advising customers to turn in their Note 7 devices.
As a stopgap solution to prevent more cases of exploding batteries on Note 7 devices, Samsung released a software update that will cap the batteries to just 60 percent of its total capacity to avoid overheating problems. However, the update only rolled out in South Korea, since Samsung claims that battery issues have already been resolved elsewhere.
The situation still hasn't deflated for Samsung yet, with recent reports of replacement units overheating and the battery draining at a much faster rate. This corporate faux bad bodes unfortunate prospects for Samsung, especially with the release of Apple's iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. It's highly likely that users will avoid purchasing Note 7 units, fearful of the device unexpectedly bursting into flames.
