More details have surfaced regarding Samsung's plan to sell refurbished units of the controversial Galaxy Note 7 in South Korea.
Reports of the plan first surfaced back in February, with Samsung providing confirmation last month that the Galaxy Note 7 will be revived in select markets.
Refurbished Galaxy Note 7
A report from South Korean website ET News said that the refurbished Galaxy Note 7 units will go on sale by the end of June in South Korea. The devices will be sold through three carriers in the country.
About 300,000 units of the 3 to 4 million units that Samsung recalled will be sold in South Korea, though the Galaxy Note 7 that will be sold will come with certain changes.
The battery of the refurbished Galaxy Note 7 will be smaller, going down from 3,500 mAh to 3,200 mAh. Samsung identified problems concerning the battery of the smartphone, specifically irregular sizes for the first recall and manufacturing issues for the second recall, as the cause for the exploding Galaxy Note 7.
Samsung is still in negotiations on the branding and pricing of the refurbished Galaxy Note 7. However, it is believed that the smartphones will be renamed as the Galaxy Note 7 R, to indicate that they are refurbished units. Meanwhile, the price of the smartphones will be at around 700,000 South Korean won, equivalent to about $620. This figure is lower by around 300,000 won, or about $266, compared to the original price of the Galaxy Note 7, which was sold at 989,890 won or around $878 when it was first released in September 2016.
The details shared by the ET News report, however, does not constitute of an official announcement from Samsung. Some details regarding the refurbished units of the Galaxy Note 7 may change, but fans of the smartphone may already expect it to be relaunched in the South Korean market in a couple of months.
Why Take The Risk In Reviving The Galaxy Note 7?
Samsung previously stated that the decision to release refurbished units of the Galaxy Note 7 is part of the company's commitment to recycle and process the recalled smartphones in a way that will be safe for the environment.
For units that are no longer possible to be refurbished, Samsung will be salvaging the components that can be used elsewhere such as semiconductors and camera modules. The remaining materials will then be recycled, with the precious metals that they contain extracted in an environmentally friendly manner.
Galaxy Note 7 vs Galaxy S8
Fans of the Galaxy Note 7 in the United States should not get their hopes up that the refurbished version will be soon available in the country. Samsung previously stated that the refurbished smartphones will not be sold in the United States.
Customers will then have to "settle" for the Galaxy S8, which has so far been met with positive feedback and no exploding batteries. The response of customers to Samsung's latest flagship smartphone has delighted the company and shows that the Galaxy Note 7 debacle has not turned away customers who are loyal to the Samsung brand.
