Samsung halts production of Galaxy Note 7 permanently

Sad news for those who had hopes of getting a safe version of the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung has permanently stopped production and sales of the  smartphone, following fears on safety over defective batteries.

This includes handsets meant for replacement by the company.

This was  reported by the WSJ, and a spokeswomen for Samsung who confirmed it is ending production of the device. Speaking to TechCrunch:

“We can confirm the report that Samsung has permanently discontinued the production of Galaxy Note7.”

Though no additional statement has been made on this decision, in a filing about ending production with South Korean regulators, it cites ‘customer safety’ as the reason.

The initial recall of 2.5 million Note 7s was done was made in early September, 2016.

On October 10, 2016, Samsung asked distributors to stop sales and exchanges of Note 7 devices, as reports of issues with replacement handsets mounted. Note 7 owners were offered a full refund or a refund for a different Samsung smartphone, along with a $25 gift certificate or other add-on to sweeten the hassle of dealing with two rounds of recalls.

In as much as Samsung once claimed  it was adjusting production of the Note 7 to, in its words, “take further steps to ensure quality and safety matters”, given the mounting PR nightmare of even replacement Note 7s having a demonstrable risk of an exploding battery, coupled with the model being name-checked as a safety hazard at airports and on flights all over the world, it’s hardly a surprise Samsung has decided to permanently stop production of the Galaxy Note 7.

Apart from the adverse effect of being  associated with exploding batteries, the cost of withdrawing the Note 7 will tell on the brand. Reuters cites analysts estimating a permanent end to Note 7 sales could cost up to $17 billion