By YUSUF TURABI
Staff Writer
The new Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has one of the best set of specifications a smartphone should possess.
But recent cases of overheating and igniting of batteries has raised some doubts among buyers as to whether investing in this particular smartphone is so smart.
“This has greatly affected Samsung’s sales and it is speculated that due to the hit they took on the Note 7 they might release the Galaxy S8 series early to compensate,” says Weilin Gong, manager and owner of Miki Wireless, in St. Catharines and Niagara Falls.
The Galaxy Note 7 was launched in August, a month prior to the release of the rival iPhone 7.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is facing high-profile problems with the phone’s battery.
There have been a “small number of reported incidents globally,” according to a news release on the official site of Samsung Electronics Inc.
Despite the problems, some people intend to stick with the brand.
“I love Samsung… I am not going to change,” says Vivek Pothegadoo, a Computer Programming student at Niagara College and a Samsung phone user since the age of 13.
“I never had problems with it.”
Samsung has recalled 2.5 million devices due to the battery problems.
Health Canada and Samsung Canada has received one report of a phone battery overheating in Canada.
The company is urging customers to replace the phone as soon as they can and exchange it with the Samsung Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge from where they purchased their device. The customers will receive a refund on the price difference between the Galaxy Note 7 and the devices they choose.
Due to the battery problems in the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung is planning an updated version for the software that will prevent the battery from overheating by limiting the recharge to 60 per cent.
According to a story by Globalnews.ca, this isn’t the first time that Samsung has had an issue with one of its products. In February 2013, a man allegedly suffered a second-degree burn in South Korea when the 2011 Galaxy Note in the pocket of his pants caught fire. In December of the same year, there was a report of a case in Vancouver where a Samsung Galaxy S4 phone that was plugged into its charger started smoking and producing sparks.
According to a CBC News report, Samsung offered free pizza as an apology to the employees at the mobile retail shops for the unprecedented recall of the phone.
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