Smartphones with large screens are becoming a common commodity in the 2020s. It wasn't always this way. In 2011, the Samsung Galaxy Note was an oddity. It was loved by a small fan base but was criticized in other quarters for its comical size, appearance, need to be carried around in cargo pants, and quirky built-in stylus. In just a few years the Note became a staple of Samsung's smartphone lineup. It arrived every year about six months after the Galaxy S. With the Note's popularity growing, many Note fans claimed that no other phone could replace the Note. VPN Deals: Monthly plans starting at $16 for a lifetime license and more
Source: Android Central
The Note 7 story began like every other flagship phone launch. The launch of the latest model of the series was met with great anticipation in 2016. Samsung wanted to match its branding with the Galaxy S7, and position the Note against Apple's iPhone 7 Plus. The Galaxy Note 7 was the successor to the Note 5. There was a lot of demand in Europe, especially for a new stylus-toting phone. Samsung had not launched a Note there since 2014. Samsung was set to launch the Note 2 in August. Sales would begin before the end, which gave them a few weeks more time than Apple. The usual reviews were published in typical fashion and praised the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, which was at that time the most expensive smartphone. Andrew Martonik wrote a review for Android Central. He said that the Galaxy Note 7 features a beautifully designed and constructed hardware, a top-notch display, and high-end internal specs. It's also sealed in tamper-proof packaging. Samsung still manages to nail the most important aspects of daily use. The software runs smoothly, the camera takes great photos and is fast, the battery lasts long, and the S Pen remains the best smartphone stylus.
This was a great showing by Samsung in a year where Apple seemed to be on the verge of collapse. The Note was a more innovative phone than the iPhone 7 series, thanks to its curved screen and other cool features such as biometric security (iris recognition) for biometric authentication. After reviews began to drop and pre-orders went live, it became clear that things were not going as planned. Pre-order customers in South Korea, and the U.S. began to receive Note 7 phones. The first reports of Note 7-related problems came in August when phones began to arrive in their hands. In addition, there were a few incidents last week in both countries where Note 7 phones spontaneously combusted shortly after or during charging. These scorch marks are a sign that the battery is not being properly charged. Although most smartphones have lithium-ion batteries, they are safe and can be dangerous if discharged improperly. A thermal runaway can cause the battery to explode or burst into flames, which is what happened in the Note 7. Images of Note 7s incinerated began to circulate on social media. This is not a good look, especially for a flagship phone made by one of the largest electronics companies in the world.
Images of Note 7s in distress were quickly plastered across mainstream media.
A video uploaded by Ariel Gonzalez, Note 7 owner, shows the first footage of the aftermath from an exploded Note. It also shows the damage to the device and the protective case that was left behind. Similar videos were released showing the Note setting itself ablaze and spewing black smoke into a Korean restaurant. The mainstream media was paying more attention to this incident, and Samsung announced to the public on August 31 that it would be halting the launch to investigate possible incendiary problems. The imminent launch of the European Note 7 was halted by the scramble to delay shipments for additional QA testing. The slowing of supplies to Korean carriers resulted in rumors of a possible withdrawal.
Two days later, Samsung announced a voluntary recall for almost all Note 7 phones that were sold. At the beginning of September, there had only been 35 incidents reported worldwide. The pattern was clear and Samsung stated that its investigation revealed a small defect which could have caused the battery to overheat. According to Samsung's chief DJ Koh, there was a small problem with the manufacturing process that made it difficult for him to explain to reporters. It will be so costly that it makes my heart hurt. We made this decision because customer safety is the most important thing. Samsung wanted to resume sales and replace first-run Note 7s within a few weeks so replacement units were quickly produced.
Source: Android Central
The green icon on the battery of new, safe Galaxy Note 7s was a distinguishing feature. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission made the official announcement a fortnight later. In America, incident numbers reached 92. The original Note 7 was officially recalled with full oversight by the U.S. government. News reports about battery fires in the Note 7 continued between the Samsung voluntary recall & the CPSC formal recall. Nathan Dornacher of St. Petersburg, Florida, who is a long-time Note user, caught fire with his four-day-old Note while charging in his Jeep Grand Cherokee. The incident resulted in the total loss of the vehicle.
According to ABC News, another Florida man sued Samsung after his Note 7 exploded inside his pocket. This caused "severe burns." The official American recall was a legal requirement that the phone cannot be used in certain areas in the U.S.A, including on airplanes. Many airlines had taken steps to ban the Note 7 and require that passengers turn off the phone when they fly. Note 7 safety warnings were also a feature of many flights in 2016 and 2017. The recall did not affect mainland China, at least not at first. Samsung thought that the defect was limited to one supplier of batteries, but phones intended for China were made by another company. This caused a lot of backlash for Samsung, as the Chinese Note 7s started to catch fire. According to the BBC, at least two incidents were confirmed. However, Samsung was unable to recover one of the handsets.
The Note 7 scandal was an international sensation by September 1.
The Note 7 scandal became a major international news story. Media circuses were created around it. Suddenly, any reports of phones burning or overheating were attributed to the Note 7. Incorrectly, a Note 7 was mistakenly claimed to have been used by a child who was injured in New York from a battery fire. The Galaxy Core was later found to be the phone in question. A Note 2 that burst into flames on an Indian plane was also included in the Note 7 story, even though it had likely used a third-party replacement battery. New Note 7s were released at the same time as the Galaxy Note 7s first generation were being recalled. To distinguish these updated Notes from the volatile variant, they would sport a green battery icon. Google granted Samsung a special dispensation to bypass the Android design guidelines that normally require icons in the status bar. Samsung started rolling out software updates in South Korea to lower the risk of explosions by limiting old Note 7s' battery charges to 60%. Samsung would eventually update firmware on the remaining U.S. phones. The Note 7 would eventually have firmware updates for the remaining U.S. units. It was a logistical nightmare to get the Note 7s back at Samsung. After all, the phone was not allowed to be carried on airplanes. What's the solution? The solution? Shipping the two million devices that were recalled back to their manufacturer by sea in specially designed fire-retardant containers. JerryRigEverything, a YouTuber, showed us the packaging used to transport Note 7 devices. This video was posted in early 2017.
Source: Android Central
It was for a while all good. Although the Note brand suffered severe damage, Samsung was left with the enormous cost and hassle of replacing several million phones. However, there seemed to be some hope that the Note 7 could still be salvaged. Brian Green took his Note 7 with him on a Southwest Airlines flight between Louisville and Baltimore. Green's Note 7 was later found to be a replacement model, green-battery icon, that allegedly had no battery defect. However, it started emitting smoke as the flight landed. Although the device was eventually extinguished it left a small hole in cabin carpet. Three days later, news broke that another Note 7 caught fire in the hands a 13-year old girl from Minnesota. Next day, another Kentucky report was published, with a second photo of the damaged handset. Both were replacement Note 7s.
Samsung failed to recognize the problem. The Galaxy Note 7 was dead.
The signs were clearly on the wall. Samsung failed to recognize the problem and the Galaxy Note 7 was dead. Samsung had to recall every Galaxy Note 7 again. The direct cost was $5.3 billion. The Galaxy S7 Edge was awarded the Samsung flagship crown for the rest of the year. The Note 7 was a popular topic for late-night comedians, and also became a marketing and PR subject.
Source: Android Central
The predictable antics continued. A Virgin America flight was diverted in December after a "Galaxy Note 7", fake Wifi hotspot, was set up onboard. The phone's appearance was modified into Grand Theft Auto V within weeks to replace the grenade weapons skin. A subculture of Note 7 snobs developed online, sharing tips, tricks and custom firmware. This helped them keep their phones running even when Samsung released updates that would cause the phone to crash. Many Android rivals pushed for battery safety certifications in future flagships, beginning with the Huawei Mate 9 in October 2016. There was no shortage of speculation about what caused the Galaxy Note 7's crash and burn. We would have to wait until 2017 to find out what actually happened. Samsung held a press conference in January offering explanations and apologies for Note 7's failures, as well as technical explanations. The two Note flavors had two distinct defects.
Source: Samsung
Samsung SDI's batteries, also known as Battery A, were defective in the top left of the lithium-ion grouping. This defect caused some cells to catch fire from repeated charging and discharging. Battery B was made by Amperex in Hong Kong. It contained a defect in its top left section that could cause short circuits in small numbers of Note 7s. Samsung claims that some of these batteries did not have sufficient insulation to prevent overheating spreading to the rest of their battery in a short-circuit scenario. Auditors also pointed out that the Note 7's high energy density was a contributing factor. The battery was too large for the phone's size, which exacerbated the problems identified in "battery" and "battery C." Samsung came up with a solution: test, test and test. The company's 8-point battery safety check would be applied to future Galaxy phones. The company showed images of large testing banks to the media to demonstrate its determination to stop anything similar from happening again. In the years that followed the unfortunate discontinuation of the phone, the legacy of the Galaxy Note 7 will be felt. In the short-term, Samsung's apology press conference seemed to have done its job and helped clear the air ahead the Galaxy S8 launch. In spring 2017, the Galaxy Note Fan Edition, or FE in Asia, was created from all the recalled Note 7s. The Galaxy Note Fan Edition (FE) was basically a Note 7 with updated software, a smaller battery and didn't explode.
Source: Samsung
The Galaxy S8 and many other Galaxies that came after it for the next few years had much better battery capacities and faster charging speeds. The Galaxy S8 phones had a relatively low capacity of 3,000 and 3500mAh. It also didn't try to charge super fast like many Chinese competitors towards the end 2010.
People kept making Note 7 jokes. They also continued to buy Samsung phones.
Source: Android Central
Samsung's attempts to apologize and explain the Note 7's defects seemed to have paid off. The Galaxy S8 was initially a headline because of the explosion of the phone it replaced, but the main focus of discussion quickly shifted to the benefits of the extra-tall display and features such as the Bixby digital assistant. Samsung revealed that the S8 had sold 30% more units than its predecessor model in April that year. This was aided by the introduction of the Galaxy S8 in a plus size. In August 2017, Samsung's first dual camera flagship, the Galaxy Note 8, followed. It was also hailed as the series' most successful launch.
Source: Alex Dobie / Android Central
