Samsung has announced that it will begin the process of extracting rare metals and materials from recalled Note 7 devices.
Samsung said that it hopes to recover as much as 157 metric tons of materials from the recalled devices. The company is hopeful that this process will minimize the impact the recalled smartphones had on the environment. Organizations such as Green Peace have been pushing the consumer-electronics company to take such a step for several months.
The removed components would then be reused to create camera parts, chips, displays and other parts that could be used to repair other products or create new ones. The company also plans to recover the rare metals such as gold, silver, and copper from the components that would not be reused.
In addition to recycling some components, the company recently relaunched a refurbished version of the Note 7 in its home country of South Korea. Beyond that, however, the company does not appear to have any plans to relaunch the Note 7 in any markets. This news likely came as a disappointment to some since, despite the risk of bursting into flame, there were reports that some users held onto their Note 7s because the devices were such good phones. Regardless, those who are not in South Korea will have to make do with the Note 8.
Samsung has said that the refurbished Note 7 is not in competition with the Note 8. This makes sense given it's limitedly marketed and slightly outdated tech.
The Disaster Of The Note 7
The Samsung Note 7 launched to strong sales and reviews. Before news broke that the Note 7's faulty battery could cause it to explode, it was hailed as one of the best smartphones on the market. Samsung issued a recall and attempted to fix the devices, but a second recall was issued when it became clear the devices were still not safe.
The fiasco surrounding these phones created a major headache for Samsung and caused consumers to lose confidence in the brand. There were some fears that the Note 7's issues would impede sales of the S8, but that does not appear to be in the case. In fact, Samsung is currently preparing for the launch of the Note 7's successor, the Note 8. All signs point to the phone being a success and it is highly unlikely that it will be plagued by the same issues that befell its predecessor.
