S amsung’s highly anticipated Galaxy Note 7 smartphone was one of the most discussed topics around the world when it was hailed for being waterproof and for being one of the first widely available smartphones to include an iris scanner at the first press event in New York City on August 2. The Note 7 was deemed the most advanced phone ever and also received good reviews from users and experts around the world. In Myanmar, the Note 7 was revealed to press on September 11 with a price tag of 920,000 Kyats. Samsung also announced that it has partnered up with Kanbawza Bank (KBZ) to offer a six-month, zero percent installment program for phone purchases. However, even before it was widely available in Myanmar, Samsung decided to make a massive recall of the much-praised smartphone after it receives reports of the phone exploding due to battery overheating.
News of Note 7 phones catching fire began to spread and Samsung received over 40 reported incidents of overheating smartphones worldwide. The world’s three largest airlines American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines advised their passengers at the gate and on board aircraft to keep the Note 7 switched off until they get off of the plane. Also the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warned users to power down their devices and stop using them.
In early September, Samsung stopped all sales and shipments of the Note 7 and it also issued a voluntary recall of devices sold before September 15. In total, Samsung recalled 2.5 million of the Note 7 across 10 worldwide markets, including one million in the U.S alone. In Myanmar there were more than 100 Galaxy Note 7 smartphones that had been pre-ordered and these customers were offered to get a refund. Samsung offered the customers to replace the faulty phone with a new Galaxy Note 7 or get a refund or trade it in for a different type of phone. Nevertheless supposedly safe replacement phones were reported to have caught fire as well.
Thus, less than eight weeks after going on sale, Samsung announced that it has made a final decision to stop production in order to consider consumers’ safety first and foremost. Samsung not only has lost its market share in this hugely competitive global smartphone market, but also billions of dollars due to lost revenue and market capitalization. Until now, there is no conclusive answer for what’s causing some Note 7s to catch fire. A news report says Samsung is considering offering discounts on its next flagship smartphone Galaxy S8 that is expected to launch in February.
