Samsung will offer a full explanation of the Galaxy Note7 smartphone fires sometime later this month according to South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo.
The device, which launched in late August, began experiencing instances in which the devices exploded or caught fire when charging. At the time, the company said the underlying issue was “problematic” batteries installed in a very limited number of the smartphones sold.
The rumor mill has indicated that Samsung may have pushed suppliers to meet tighter deadlines in order to make an earlier launch. This, in turn, may have lead to technical oversights that allowed for some of the batteries to catch fire. In October, Samsung stated that it was examining all aspects of the device but had been unable to replicate the problem.
Samsung issued a Galaxy Note7 recall in September, and permanently discontinued the smartphone in October after some replacement devices caught fire. Samsung has urged customers to return their Galaxy Note7s immediately, and in December began seeding a software update to prevent unreturned devices from charging.
Following the recall, the Galaxy Note7 was banned on all U.S. flights with airlines requiring that passengers disclose if they were carrying a Galaxy Note7, which helped damage Samsung’s reputation and stock price.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via MacRumors, Reuters and JoongAng Ilbo