Samsung recalls Galaxy Note 7 phones over exploding batteries

Samsung is recalling their Galaxy Note 7 due to safety concerns.

(Image credit: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 2 September 2016

On Friday, Samsung halted sales of its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy Note 7, issuing what amounts to a recall in 10 countries, including the U.S. and South Korea but not China. Samsung rolled out the Note 7 just two weeks ago, on Aug. 19, to mostly positive reviews, and since then several users have reported the phone catching on fire or exploding after being plugged in. "We have received several reports of battery explosion on the Note 7," Koh Dong-jin, the president of Samsung's mobile business, told reporters Friday morning, "and it has been confirmed that it was a battery cell problem."

Samsung says it has manufactured 2.5 million Note 7s and sold more than a million, and that the problem was with one of the two companies that makes its battery cells. Customers will be able to swap their phones for a new device, a process that will take about two weeks. Samsung confirmed 35 cases of burning Note 7s worldwide. "This is an extraordinary decision for a tech giant to make based on so few reported incidents," says BBC technology reporter Zoe Kleinman. "It's bad timing so soon after a big product launch and especially given that Samsung's rival Apple is understood to be preparing to unveil a new iPhone" on Sept. 7. You can learn more in the CNN report below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.