Despite a recent report about a Galaxy S7 smartphone exploding in a Canadian man’s hands, Samsung has said in a statement that it stands behind the safety of its devices.
Concerns about overheating in another Samsung phone could have the potential to create another black eye for the South Korean electronics giant in the wake of the disastrous release and subsequent recall of the Galaxy Note 7 just a few months ago.
“Samsung stands behind the quality and safety of the Galaxy S7 family,” the company said in a statement Friday. “There have been no confirmed cases of internal battery failures with these devices among the more than 10 million devices being used by consumers in the United States; however, we have confirmed a number of instances caused by severe external damage. Until Samsung is able to obtain and examine any device, it is impossible to determine the true cause of any incident.”
Report of Exploding Galaxy S7
Released to high acclaim in August, the Galaxy Note 7 was intended to be another star in Samsung’s lineup of premium smartphones. It was also the company’s first major phone release since the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge arrived in the U.S. market in March.
However, Samsung’s hopes for the Galaxy Note 7 were quickly dashed as reports began coming in from around the globe of fires connected to battery overheating. The company first offered a replacement program for defective devices, but after some replacements also caught fire, the company issued a recall and suspended production of the Note 7.
Last week’s statement about the safety of the Galaxy S7 line was issued several days after Canada’s Winnipeg Sun newspaper reported on a local man who said his hands were burned after his device exploded. According to the paper, Amarjit Mann said he noticed the phone felt warm in his pocket. When he took it out of his pocket, he said the device blew up, causing second- and third-degree burns to his hands. Mann told the Winnipeg Sun he was looking into filing a lawsuit in connection with the incident.
Poll Finds Samsung Brand Remains Strong
The failed Galaxy Note 7 launch has already led to at least two class action lawsuits against Samsung, which expects to take a hit of more than $5 billion on its profits due to the recall.
However, the Note 7 problems do not appear to have caused lasting damage to Samsung’s brand appeal, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Sunday. The poll of several thousand Samsung and iPhone owners found that both groups have similar loyalties to their chosen brand.
According to the poll, 91 percent of Samsung owners said they would likely buy other smartphones from the company, while 92 percent of iPhone users would continue to buy iPhones.
“Samsung has said that customers chose another Samsung model as a replacement for the Note 7 in a majority of instances, without giving more detail,” Reuters reported. “It has said nearly 85 percent of the recalled Note 7 devices had been replaced or returned through its refund and exchange program as of Nov. 4.”
In other Samsung developments, The Korea Herald reported yesterday that the company is planning to release a new version of the Galaxy S7 in glossy black early next month. The new color offering appears to be an effort to position the S7 as an alternative to Apple’s iPhone 7, released earlier this year in two highly popular colors: jet black and matte black, according to the paper.
