One of the burning questions for Samsung after its official unveiling of its next flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, is whether the devices will be safer than the potentially explosive Galaxy Note 7.
It can be remembered that the Galaxy Note 7 had a massively successful launch, but the smartphone was ultimately doomed by manufacturing issues that caused some Galaxy Note 7 batteries to explode and catch fire. After a pair of recalls, Samsung decided to permanently pull the plug on the controversial device.
Samsung made sure that no such thing will happen with the Galaxy S8, as the company looks to rebound from the embarrassing Galaxy Note 7 debacle.
Samsung Implements New Safety Standards For Galaxy S8
Samsung decided to formulate and implement a variety of new safety standards for the production of the Galaxy S8, as the company was found to have certain shortcomings in its testing process for the Galaxy Note 7.
As reported by The Verge's Dan Seifert, Samsung has greatly expanded the testing process of the batteries that it will use for the Galaxy S8. The company now has an eight-point checklist for inspecting batteries, and while suppliers do most of the testing, Samsung duplicates the tests to act as another measure in detecting and identifying potential issues.
The company also now has what is called an Accelerated Usage Test, which is made to simulate the normal usage patterns of customers over time. The test includes what the batteries of smartphones typically and possibly go through, including charges, discharges, exposure to water, and the like. The tests are carried out by dozens of employees on 100,000 devices to make sure that there are no issues.
It was also reported by CNET's Shara Tibken that during testing, if a battery turns out to be defective, the entire lot which included that specific battery would be returned to the supplier. In some cases, the number of batteries in such batches reach as many as 15,000 units.
Samsung Makes Changes To Galaxy S8
The development of the Galaxy S8 was almost finished when reports of exploding batteries started coming in for the Galaxy Note 7. This prompted the company to backtrack and make changes to the batteries of the Galaxy S8.
Samsung decided to lower the battery capacity of the Galaxy S8 to 3,000 mAh and that of the Galaxy S8 Plus to 3,500 mAh, both of which are downgrades compared to the 3,600 mAh battery found in the Galaxy S7 edge released last year. However, despite the lower battery capacities, Samsung claims that the smartphones will last longer on a single charge with the help of energy management software in the Galaxy S8, along with other adjustments that the company made.
Samsung also focused on improving the durability of the Galaxy S8 battery to allow it to remain potent even after hundreds of charging cycles. In fact, after six months to one year of usage, the Galaxy S8 will turn out to have a better battery life than its predecessor, and will continue to better hold a charge after two years.
With these changes, Samsung is hoping that it would be able to get customers to forget about the Galaxy Note 7 quicker, and instead focus on a more powerful, and safer, Galaxy S8.
