Samsung Electronics Co. said on Tuesday it has not yet recovered close to 40 percent of recalled Galaxy Note 7 smartphones sold in South Korea and the United States.”
Se Young Lee reports for Reuters, “In a statement, Samsung said it was focused on replacing all affected devices “as quickly and efficiently” as possible and reiterated its request that customers affected by the current recall should power off their device and turn them in.”
“The world’s top smartphone maker announced on Sept. 2 a global recall of at least 2.5 million Note 7 smartphones in 10 markets due to faulty batteries causing some phones to catch fire,” Lee reports. “Samsung hopes to take the faulty products off the market as soon as possible in order to limit further damage to its reputation.”
MacDailyNews Take: How about limiting the potential for maiming or killing feckless customers who were confused enough to waste their money on an iPhone knockoff from a South Korean dishwasher maker in the first place? That Samsung is worried most about damage to their reputation – which, for those who’ve been paying even a bit of attention, is of slavishly copying Apple, illegal slush funds, and other slimy pursuits – rather than their customers’ safety, should tell you all you need to know about the South Korean chaebol.
“The nearly month-long recall process has provided additional stumbles and embarrassment for the firm,” Lee reports. “Reports of Note 7 fires and damages have continued after the recall announcement, while aviation authorities around the world issued warnings or outright bans on the use or charging of the Note 7 on aircraft.”
MacDailyNews Take: Life is too short to waste your money on bad imitations. Get the real thing.
While we’d much prefer that people recognized a knockoff for what it is and shunned it immediately on moral grounds — instead of buying fake Coke and pretending to enjoy it as much as real Coke only to turn on the producer once it started poisoning them — we’ll take whatever justice Karma chooses to mete out.
Jeep charging a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (left) and a Jeep charging an Apple iPhone (right)
Garage charging a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (left) and a garage charging an Apple iPhone (right)
The recall itself is rather odd. People had one week (15th-21st) to exchange a Note7 for another Note7. After that, they had to switch to another model or accept the refund. (A friend only heard about the recall when the web site was updated on the 20th, so for them it was a one-day offer.)
Why would they stop the trade-in? If they fixed the problem, they could produce more if stock is limited. If they didn’t, then they shouldn’t be trading in at all.
The second stage of the recall was probably because they realized they couldn’t possibly keep up the exchange in a timely manner so switched to offering a different device or a refund rather than create more disappointment by holding on to they money. On a brighter note for Apple enthusiasts, a refund tilts the consumer towards a possible iPhone.
Allowing ANY SizzleSplode phone onboard a plane is like allowing a time bomb that may or may not go off. There should simply be an outright ban on all SamSplode phones on planes. I don’t want some clueless cheaptard Johnny or Jane buying fake iPhones to put my own life or others at risk.
If there continues to remain a meaningful percentage of people who haven’t replaced their old devices, this will never go away for Samsung. Airlines and other public transportation agencies will continue to require Samsung device owners to shut them down during the trip, since there is no way of knowing which device is old (the exploding one), and which is new (the battery-draining one).
Judging by some of the feedback out there, it seems that Samsung didn’t really find the best way to notify the users that they MUST return their device, so there will continue to be many who either haven’t even heard about the recall, or have heard about it but simply can’t be bothered, because their phone “works just fine, thank you!”. As long as there are plenty of people like this, Samsung will continue to have this problem.
How can Samsung be trusted again? First, they say 90% of Note 7 users are getting another Note 7. Now, they say 40% haven’t exchanged the defective device yet. The new Note 7 replacement model appears to be draining the battery too quickly, which means Samsung is completely botching this recall. They told the Chinese there are no problems with their Note 7’s, but there have been recent reports of those models exploding too. The Galaxy Edge 7 phones also appear to be having battery issues, and at least two of their devices smoked planes that were in-flight this past week or so.
This isn’t some Chinese company putting lead paint in children’s toys. Samsung’s neglect could literally kill their customers and large numbers of innocent people.
To be fare it was the reporter, not Samsung, that wrote “as soon as possible in order to limit further damage to its reputation.”
It’s kind of what I expect from Reuters.
Now, what Samsung managers are saying behind close doors is anyone’s speculation. They’re just not dumb enough to say that out loud.
The recall itself is rather odd. People had one week (15th-21st) to exchange a Note7 for another Note7. After that, they had to switch to another model or accept the refund. (A friend only heard about the recall when the web site was updated on the 20th, so for them it was a one-day offer.)
Why would they stop the trade-in? If they fixed the problem, they could produce more if stock is limited. If they didn’t, then they shouldn’t be trading in at all.
The second stage of the recall was probably because they realized they couldn’t possibly keep up the exchange in a timely manner so switched to offering a different device or a refund rather than create more disappointment by holding on to they money. On a brighter note for Apple enthusiasts, a refund tilts the consumer towards a possible iPhone.
Allowing ANY SizzleSplode phone onboard a plane is like allowing a time bomb that may or may not go off. There should simply be an outright ban on all SamSplode phones on planes. I don’t want some clueless cheaptard Johnny or Jane buying fake iPhones to put my own life or others at risk.
If there continues to remain a meaningful percentage of people who haven’t replaced their old devices, this will never go away for Samsung. Airlines and other public transportation agencies will continue to require Samsung device owners to shut them down during the trip, since there is no way of knowing which device is old (the exploding one), and which is new (the battery-draining one).
Judging by some of the feedback out there, it seems that Samsung didn’t really find the best way to notify the users that they MUST return their device, so there will continue to be many who either haven’t even heard about the recall, or have heard about it but simply can’t be bothered, because their phone “works just fine, thank you!”. As long as there are plenty of people like this, Samsung will continue to have this problem.
How can Samsung be trusted again? First, they say 90% of Note 7 users are getting another Note 7. Now, they say 40% haven’t exchanged the defective device yet. The new Note 7 replacement model appears to be draining the battery too quickly, which means Samsung is completely botching this recall. They told the Chinese there are no problems with their Note 7’s, but there have been recent reports of those models exploding too. The Galaxy Edge 7 phones also appear to be having battery issues, and at least two of their devices smoked planes that were in-flight this past week or so.
This isn’t some Chinese company putting lead paint in children’s toys. Samsung’s neglect could literally kill their customers and large numbers of innocent people.
To be fare it was the reporter, not Samsung, that wrote “as soon as possible in order to limit further damage to its reputation.”
It’s kind of what I expect from Reuters.
Now, what Samsung managers are saying behind close doors is anyone’s speculation. They’re just not dumb enough to say that out loud.
No one is going to risk using a Samsung for on-face, VR anymore!
Some analysts say the cost of the recall and lost sales could wipe off nearly $5 billion in revenues for Samsung this year.
$1 Billion?
$2 Billion?
$5 Billion . . . ?
We are approaching a geometric progression. Delightful. 😼