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Samsung Stops Galaxy Note 7 Smartphone Shipments as Safety Suspicions Spread
- sengork 10y agoUnfortunately the last two release cycles of the Note series have been feature downgrades ever since Note 4. Fun fact - this is not a maths error, Samsung skipped Note 6 branding and went straight to 7 to match their S7 release names.
- dingo_bat 10y agoWhat features did the Note 4 have that the Note 7 does not? I think the IR blaster is definitely missing.
- arvinsim 10y agoRemovable battery for one.
- sengork 10y agoUV light sensor which for some reason needed location data to measure correctly. I've never understood why this is required as it should be able to read raw data based on incoming light.
- sengork 10y agoAnd less megapixels for the camera, although this is not a conclusively bad thing...
- alastair 10y agoexpandable memory
- dingo_bat 10y agoIt's there.
- goldenkey 10y agoNote 4 had a removable battery cover that could be replaced with the S-Case. That made the phone very small. You are totally right, (I have the note 5 and its only a faster phone, everything else is worse.)
- dagw 10y agoSlackware Linux jumped from version 4 to version 7 so that people wouldn't think that Slackware was less up-to-date than Redhat 6. Solaris versions went 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 7, 8... since Sun got tired of people thinking that point releases only meant minor tweaks and bug fixes.
- bArray 10y agoI know news sites making viewing a paid-for experience is relatively new, but it feels kind of wrong to bring closed source information onto HN. Regardless of quality, it's generally frowned upon. This link could be replaced by the link below without sacrificing quality (it may actually be the original source too): http://www.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-smartphones-idUSKCN1161BL http://www.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-smartphones-i...
- danso 10y agoIt's not new for the WSJ. They were one of the first major news orgs to impose a paywall, and it's one of the few success stories in the news industry.
- bArray 10y agoI know and in a general sense I agree with their decision to do it - it makes sense. I just don't think it's appropriate for HN. If you do pay to bypass a news wall, chances are you will only pay for one. If there's three hypothetical equal competitors, that'll limit the audience by a third.
- taspeotis 10y agoOr just click the "web" link and read the article?
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- bArray 10y agoAll I get is "To Read the Full Story, Subscribe or Sign In". That's it. No other options. Maybe I could get around it, but it's a lot more hassle for the average reader than it's worth.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- bArray 10y agoEDIT: The Korea Herald indicates that the issues appear to be originating from faulty ITM battery packs [2]. OLD: Going along with the assumption there is some fault with the devices... Essentially they should just sit there in shipping unless there is an external/internal battery short, extreme temperature or puncture. I assume the batteries were not punctured sitting in their target package after all the testing they must do and the fact these batteries can handle the temperatures of shipping (this is done all of the time). "Sister company Samsung SDI Co Ltd (006400.KS) said that while it was a supplier of Galaxy Note 7 batteries, it had received no information to suggest the batteries were faulty." [1] These batteries are made and tested all of the time, I would hope the technology is quite well understood my now which for me would rule out the likelihood of internal battery failure. Samsung also tend make quite high quality equipment in general in my personal opinion. For me that leaves two likely possibilities, the phones were somehow switched on during travel (potentially through vibration or bad software) or bad circuit design meaning some current draw in given scenarios allowing the batteries to warm up. My money would be on the devices turning on during shipping due to a crate knock or large shock. If a pallet fell of a fork lift or some semi-large force to the devices, I wouldn't be surprised if the low-profile power button was pressed inwards, switching the devices on. If I remember rightly, Samsung devices ship in cardboard, acting both as insulation and something to get the fire going. A nice large hot display and hot battery well insulated would be enough to do a bit of thermal escalation. I would imagine it would only take one to turn on to do the trick. If I were Samsung I would switch one on, stick it back in it's packaging and wrap it in bubble wrap to simulate the condition of being in the middle of a pallet. [1] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-smartphones-idUSKCN1161BL http://www.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-smartphones-i... [2] http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160901000855 http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160901000855
- ghshephard 10y agoThat theory (issue with shipping) doesn't seem to be consistent with a global recall.
- bArray 10y agoI stand corrected. After reading "The Korean Herald" [1], it does appear you're right about them considering a global recall. "Thus far, explosions have been reported on the phones using the ITM battery pack." [1] "Amid growing concerns among consumers, Samsung is considering recalling all the Note phones and exchanging the battery free of charge." [1] I'm really surprised, seems like the suppliers of the batteries have some lacking quality control. This isn't something I would expect from a major competitor to Apple, usually there is ridiculously over-the-top quality control from these companies. [1] http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160901000855 http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160901000855
- taspeotis 10y agoReuters has a short article (sans any named source) that Samsung will issue a global recall [1]. http://www.reuters.com/article/samsung-elec-smartphones-recall-idUSS6N19U01C?type=companyNews http://www.reuters.com/article/samsung-elec-smartphones-reca...
- milankragujevic 10y agoMy, rather cheap, Samsung phone had it's battery puff up and after I put the battery in a metal container for a month, it did catch fire and burn for a short time inside the container. That's a rather known problem for a Galaxy S3 Mini and such. I had to buy a new battery. So it might not be surprising that a same problem has occurred with the Note 7, it might be a bad battery supplier.
- behnamoh 10y agoThe surprising part is that Note product line is supposed to be pretty mature after all these years, but we still observe these childish issues in the final product. If you're copying from Apple or others, at least do it right.
- dingo_bat 10y agoApple has copied more from the note series than vice versa.
- ceejayoz 10y agoLike what? And no, Android features Apple copied from Google don't count.
- Nursie 10y agoWell, the phablet form factor - the Samsung note range did create (or perhaps reveal) that particular market, which Apple eventually decided to move into. Software-wise, I have no idea as I've never really used an iPhone.
- ceejayoz 10y agoIf you're going to credit Samsung for the phablet form factor then you need to credit Apple for the iPhone and iPad form factor it built off, and so on and so forth.
- chubs 10y agoThe timing re the iPhone 7, which is coming out in a few days, is terrible for Samsung. I imagine customers will have to return their Note, and then many will strongly consider the new iPhone. If this happened even a month ago, that would be far less of an issue.
- _Codemonkeyism 10y agoGot mine 5min after @Samsung told me they stop delivery. Now unopened package on my desk. Very angry at Samsung, their ecommerce shop (3 tries until ordering worked), delivery notification (10 hours late for every update), delivery (wrong delivery address from their system to DHL) has been very bad already. For an 850 EUR premium device. I will never buy from them again. And now this. Probably returning and getting an iPhone7.
- blub 10y agoYou really have no idea how much crap Samsung is doing. Their entire business model is basically copy what the established players are doing, but not obviously enough to get sued and then undercut them on price. They screwed up once with Apple, but otherwise it works fine for them. Then there's the bizarre sexist ads, refusing to pay the return flight for bloggers if they don't praise Samsung and other stories. I wouldn't buy anything from them even if their customer support were great.
- kuschku 10y agoYet, they absolutely dominate the smart phone market outside of the US, having not just a relative majority, but an absolute majority.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- neotek 10y agoThat's true, but market share is a pointless metric, since ultimately all it takes to get market share is money - the more you spend on advertising, the more you discount your product, the more people will own it regardless of how good or bad it is. What matters is profit share, and Apple vacuums up nearly 100% of the profit in the smartphone world, and meanwhile Samsung silently prays that some day it will be within earshot of just breaking even.
- 10y ago
- peterjlee 10y agoSamsung just announced that they will replace all 2.5 million Note 7 sold so far. http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/02/reuters-america-brief-samsung-says-will-replace-all-problematic-note-7s-sold-or-shipped.html http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/02/reuters-america-brief-samsung...
- bArray 10y agoThat's not going to be cheap! Must be pretty serious for them to come to that conclusion. No doubt somebody will have some stern words said to them over this, been in one of those meetings.
- exorcet 10y agoIf they'd just made the damn thing with a removable battery like the note4 and older this would be a much easier, and cheaper, problem to deal with.
- mixedCase 10y agoI might have actually have bought one in the first place. I don't buy any phone I can't get a replaceable, extended battery for. I'm still rocking a Galaxy S3 with a Hyperion 7000mAh battery which easily lasts 3 days without recharging and am only looking to replace it because I got the international version, with no LTE and only 1GB of RAM. If I had gotten the South Korean version I would keep on using it until it broke.
- vthallam 10y agoDidn't knew until today that there are 7000 mAh batteries which can fit in samsung phones, interesting. Why do you think the companies are not going for these kind of batteries in the first place?
- mixedCase 10y agoFashion, mostly. Skinny jeans and thick smartphones are a problem. Also the mentality that thinner==better being mainstream. What boggles my mind is companies like LG, who offer phones with replaceable batteries not selling their own high-capacity batteries. Maybe they fear people will see someone with the extended battery and believe that is the regular phone?
- shimon_e 10y agoWill airlines ban carrying the Note 7 on board?
- peter303 10y agoThe might ban putting them in luggage. Most people carry theirs.
- pcurve 10y agowonder what they're going to do with 2.5 million phones they take back. I don't think they would dare sell them as refurb units.
- _Codemonkeyism 10y agoReplace battery, sell them as new is what I bet on. Fishy yes. Compared to taking a 1B$ hit easy for excecutives.
- taspeotis 10y ago> sell them as new That's what they did for their washing machines that also caught on fire [1]. [1] http://www.samsung.com/au/washingmachinerecall/ http://www.samsung.com/au/washingmachinerecall/ "Did Samsung apply the rework to machines prior to sale? "
- bArray 10y agoHave a long line of people take out one battery and put in another. Then carefully repackage the entire lot.
- hetfeld 10y agoMy Samsung Galaxy S7 heats up aswell while charging and using phone. It's not okay too... I fear that it will blow up someday.
- majortennis 10y agonot sure whether to worry
- hetfeld 10y agowell, it will some day blow up. i'm glad that i don't play Pokemon anymore, because it's turning off everytime i've played it after 15 minutes or so.
- behnamoh 10y ago* To the Downvoters * : I actually don't care about your downvotes [1]. If anything, it makes me realize I was on the right track. [1]: I don't earn a living out of HN-karma anyway.
- IntelMiner 10y agoAt the risk of furthering non-discussion, this isn't Reddit. Civility is generally expected
- behnamoh 10y agoOh yeah, and me pointing out a fact wasn't "civility"? My original comment got down-voted exactly because of some folks who can't stand facts. Talk about civility. PS: I edited my tone in the above comment to sound more polite.
- mlvljr 10y agoHold on, pal, we'll upvote you back :)
- sctb 10y agoWe detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12411866 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12411866 and marked it off-topic.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- nradov 10y agoI feel a sense of schadenfreude over this after Samsung decided to disregard their loyal Note series customers and put a non-removable battery in the Note 7. Terrible decision.
- rorykoehler 10y agoI'll never buy Samsung again after owning Note 2. Memory failed after 2 and a bit years. I found out it was a known issue. I had bought it with the intention of using it 4-5 years. When spending that kind of money I'd expect only the best components. The fact that they used poor ones in their flagship product doesn't speak well for them.
- jdavis703 10y agoHow do you handle security issues with such an outdated phone?
- rorykoehler 10y agoI'd root it and install latest Android.
- nradov 10y agoThat only works if you can get device drivers.
- mindslight 10y agoOutdated phone? The Galaxy S4 i9500 is the newest model with a discrete modem that is supported by Cyanogenmod. The Note 2 is only one generation behind.
- consto 10y agoI have to respect Samsung for doing a recall correctly, not like how Whirlpoint are bungling their dryer recall. Years wait for someone to come around and fix it! In the mean time do they really think that people can just stop using the dryers.
- mschuster91 10y agoI hope Samsung (and others) learn from this clusterfuck and decide to employ user-replaceable batteries in the future. I had my Note 1 battery also expand in volume - probably due to a crappy charger and the electronics didn't filter voltage fluctuation enough - and had to get rid of it before it exploded.
- BinaryIdiot 10y ago> I hope Samsung (and others) learn from this clusterfuck and decide to employ user-replaceable batteries in the future. Na. Won't happen and honestly I'm fine with it. Replaceable batteries are a very tiny niche that the vast majority of users not only don't care about but don't want to have to deal with. It also further complicates waterproofing. You can even shove a larger battery in the phone if it's not replaceable. > I had my Note 1 battery also expand in volume - probably due to a crappy charger and the electronics didn't filter voltage fluctuation enough - and had to get rid of it before it exploded To be fair it's supposed to expand versus catching fire / exploding so it doesn't necessarily indicate that it will explode though you should most certainly get rid of it ASAP.
- mschuster91 10y ago> It also further complicates waterproofing. I own a CAT B15Q, which sports a replaceable battery and is waterproof enough to have earned back its price by betting random people in bars "can this phone survive dunking into a mug of beer". > To be fair it's supposed to expand versus catching fire / exploding so it doesn't necessarily indicate that it will explode though you should most certainly get rid of it ASAP. Yes, but with a fixed backplate you won't see the battery expanding until it's too late. Also, phone vendors can't ship the battery separate from the phone, which has two issues: 1) no more "take out the battery" to reboot the phone, as vendor you have to rely on a secondary processor to monitor a key combination for rebooting - and if this goes wrong, no way short of disassembly to force a reboot. 2) as Samsung is experiencing right now (and various manufacturers before them), extremely expensive callbacks in case of battery defects. With replaceable batteries, just give any store (or the consumer!) a way of checking if the battery is vulnerable (a simple web interface with a serial number input), and a stock of replacement batteries, and it's done in under 5 minutes. Disassembling will usually require specially equipped stores (clean rooms, replacement glues, special training for nondestructive opening, ...) and time, both of which are expensive and reduce the number of service points available to the consumer.
- jobigoud 10y agoAggravating is the fact that this device goes into the new GearVR, so strapped to your head and just a few centimeters from your eyes.
- obihill 10y agoNever liked Samsung phones (Google Nexus 5 user still), but this is really annoying for their customers. I'm even sadder for those who buy these expensive phones unsubsidized.