Samsung’s Note series has been it’s most successful smartphone series ever. And, I vividly remember when the first Galaxy Note was announced by Samsung. Most smartphone industry analysts shunned the device as backwards for its use of a stylus, a technology that visionaries like Steve Jobs had pronounced dead. But we all are the witness of how Samsung was not only able to create a completely new category called ‘Phablets’ but also set new records in terms of sales. In 2016, that is 5 years later, you won’t find a smartphone maker that doesn’t manufacture ‘Phablets’. Out of which, many also tried their luck with Stylus based Phablets but no one could match the perfection of Note’s SPen.
In these 5 years, the Note series has progressed leaps and bounds in terms of both hardware and software of the device. With each passing year, the device added new features and revolutionary changes like curved screen, ability to take notes even when the screen is off etc.
This year, Samsung skipped a series and launched the Galaxy Note 7 instead of the Note 6. This was done to realign itself with it’s Galaxy S series which is now on S7/S7 Edge and also to mark a huge change in the new Note.
Like each year, this year’s Note 7 smartphone came with many new features like being Waterproof (a first for a Note device) and Iris scanner for advanced security (a first for any Samsung smartphone). No wonder it was so well received the world over for its finesse and state of the art features. From Tech Experts, Journalists to Bloggers and Youtubers everyone was raving about the latest stallion from Samsung’s stable.
In fact, Samsung sold 2.5 million devices in a matter of two weeks. And that’s when it went on sale in only 10 countries around the world. I know so many of my family and friends who have pre-booked the device in India and are waiting anxiously for it.
But according to the recent reports, out of 2.5 million Note 7 devices that have been sold, 35 were reported to have faulty phone batteries. In recent days, people have been posting images of charred Galaxy Note 7 devices, claiming they’d overheated or exploded.
As a leader in smartphone industry, Samsung had an easy choice to replace the smartphones that were showing the signs of heating up but instead they decided to replace each and every Note 7 in the market with a new one or (in some countries like US) a user could opt for Samsung’s Galaxy S7/S7 Edge device plus a $25 phone bill credit, or a $25 gift card, for the inconvenience.
The cost of putting customers first is amounting to be $1 Billion.
Here’s Samsung’s statement:
Samsung is committed to producing the highest quality products and we take every incident report from our valued customers very seriously. In response to recently reported cases of the new Galaxy Note7, we conducted a thorough investigation and found a battery cell issue.
To date (as of September 1) there have been 35 cases that have been reported globally and we are currently conducting a thorough inspection with our suppliers to identify possible affected batteries in the market. However, because our customers’ safety is an absolute priority at Samsung, we have stopped sales of the Galaxy Note7.
For customers who already have Galaxy Note7 devices, we will voluntarily replace their current device with a new one over the coming weeks. Instructions on the replacement process will be shared next week.
We acknowledge the inconvenience this may cause in the market but this is to ensure that Samsung continues to deliver the highest quality products to our customers. We are working closely with our partners to ensure the replacement experience is as convenient and efficient as possible.
On the contrary, iPhone users like me have been plagued with issues since the iPhone 4 but has Apple ever cared and given a replacement? No, Never!
How many of you remember these:
My point here is that nothing is perfect and faults can occur with anything. Samsung is not the first tech company that is recalling its products. In the past, Fitbit and Nvidia have recalled their products from the market for some issue or the other. In fact, if I talk about the automotive industry, then Honda, Nissan, Chrysler, Ford, Mitsubishi, GM, Mazda, Suzuki, Subaru and Isuzu have all had to recall their products. Let’s not even getting into VW group’s recent emission limit problem.
Hence for me, Samsung’s recall is a very bold move and shows its commitment to its consumers. There are a lot of articles on the web stating how the Note 7 recall will hurt Samsung badly. But nobody is looking at the other side of the coin and applauding them for their efforts. I agree that it shouldn’t have happened in the first place, but now that it has, Samsung is acknowledging it and replacing each and every device in the market.
In my honest opinion, Samsung as a smartphone maker has set a new benchmark for all the other smartphone makers to accept if there is any problem with their product or service and rectify it. In the end, Apple should take Note on how Samsung acknowledged the shortfall and is fixing it. It’s upsetting when you are shown the door for a critical issue like Bendgate. Apple never cared that a bent phone can cause the screen to break, burst or even worse.
So when a brand like Samsung is doing it, I think it’s time we appreciate the fact that they at least care for its consumers.