Photograph — nigerianprince.ng

“Consumers with either an original Galaxy Note7 or replacement Galaxy Note7 device should power down and stop using the device and take advantage of the remedies available.” – Samsung

Inflammable phones and plunging shares – things are not looking good for South Korea’s tech giant, Samsung. Soon after its flagship Galaxy Note7 entered the market in August, users started reporting that their phones were catching fire. Samsung promptly embarked on a global recall of the jinxed phone, recalling about 2.5 million in September. Samsung blamed the combustion on faulty battery cells and urged users to participate in a global replacement program that was launched early last month.

“…We are asking users to power down their Galaxy Note7s and exchange them as soon as possible. We are expediting replacement devices so that they can be provided through the exchange program as conveniently as possible…,” Samsung’s President of Mobile Communications Business, DJ Koh, said in a statement.

Unfortunately for Samsung, the replacement phones are catching fire too. Last Tuesday, an American fell ill from smoke inhaled while asleep as his replacement phone caught fire. “The whole room just covered in smoke smells awful. I look over and my phone is on fire,” Michael Klering said. According to him, the phone was neither plugged in nor in use when it went ablaze.

Credit - imgur.com
Credit – imgur.com

The following day, another Samsung replacement phone caught fire in its owners pocket aboard a domestic flight in the United States. The man, Brian Green, said he heard a “pop” and noticed smoke “billowing” from his clothes. Green said he pulled the phone out of his pocket and threw it on the floor of the plane for fear of it exploding on him. The incident prompted a swift evacuation of passengers and flight cancellation.

Following these string of events, the South Korean company today announced a halt in the production of Galaxy Note7 and asked all global partners to stop sales and exchanges of the jinxed device while investigations are ongoing. But more importantly, Samsung has asked all Note7 users to turn off their devices. However, before Samsung’s announcement, phone carriers in the United States and Australia had suspended shipping, sales, and exchanges of Galaxy Note 7.

These issues are no doubt a setback for the world’s largest smartphone company. The company’s shares dropped 7.5 percent today, wiping over $18 billion off its value, the biggest daily percentage decline since 2008, according to The Guardian. Not to mention the severe damage this is doing to the company’s competitive position in the smartphone market. Affected users and critics have dubbed the Note7 “a ticking time bomb” and accused Samsung of caring more about its reputation than the safety of its users.

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