Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 may be waterproof-ish, but what its having to do right now is fight fires. Thirty-five of them, at the very least.
In a disastrous chain of events for Samsung Electronics, soon after the flagship Note 7 had been launched and started to reach customers who had pre-ordered, it was discovered that an unknown number of the phone’s units had a faulty battery. Or so it would seem from the reports that units of the Note 7 exploded or caught fire while charging. This self-sabotage has happened at the worst possible time -- a mere week before arch rival Apple holds its event, possibly launching the new iPhone. Yes, ouch.
Only after the launch of the Galaxy S6 family has Samsung seen some hope on the horizon, struggling as it was to retain its top position in the smartphone race globally. And now this.
Rather hastily, Samsung has had to recall Note 7 units. In damage control mode, the company has been trying to emphasise that the problem has been with a very small number of units and that it is out of an abundance of caution that the worldwide recall programme has been set into motion. Customers will get new units and won’t have too long a wait, according to reports, and those who want to swap for the Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge can do so.
Understandably though, customers will have been thoroughly spooked.
I find myself looking at my Galaxy S7 Edge with some degree of suspicion, specially when it heats up during a session with the Gear VR headset.
Before the disastrous fires, there had been murmurings of discontent over Apple’s lack of innovation and its release of one iPhone after another that have been well-designed but so very same-old. It’s been a long time since Apple has been doing anything to uphold its old tagline: Think Different.
Samsung, on the other hand, had the iris scanner, a capable stylus, arguably the best smartphone camera, VR capability, and more, in comparison. After the extent of the Note 7 problem unfolded however, Apple fans have been chuckling, smug in the belief that they have been vindicated over the iPhone being the far superior product. Someone kindly offered a solution to Samsung’s problem of fires on the Note 7: the iPhone 6.
While that may be amusing, it isn’t as if Apple’s iPhone has been without its own problems through its evolution. If the iPhone 7 comes in on September 7th, with some major innovations however, Apple can be as smug as its fans.
Meanwhile, no one doubts that Samsung will have an uphill task repairing its damaged reputation, long after it has managed to repair the damaged Note 7.