April 25, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics has recalled around 85 percent of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones in the US through an ongoing recall program for the fire-prone handset, according to news reports on Nov. 7.

Of the entire 1.9 million Note 7s sold in the US, around 1.61 million have been returned.

However, more than 280,000 units of the problematic phones are still being used by consumers, which has become a major headache for the Korean smartphone maker.

“We remain focused on collecting all outstanding Galaxy Note 7 phones in the market,” Samsung said in a recent statement sent to The Verge, an online tech news outlet.

The replacement rate of the Note 7 in Korea stands below 30 percent in Korea where around 500,000 Note 7 units were sold.

Samsung, which sold 3.06 million units of the short-lived Note 7 worldwide, initially said a faulty battery was the main cause of the fire and explosion of the phone, but later admitted there could be multiple causes.

So far the firm has capped the maximum battery charge of the problematic smartphone at 60 percent to encourage those who still have not replaced their phones to participate in the recall program.

In Korea, the tech behemoth will also offer a discount for the Note 7 users, who join the recall program, when they purchase the Galaxy S8 and Note 8 next year.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)