Samsung halts Galaxy Note 7 sales after battery explosions

The recall of Samsung’s Galaxy Note7 smartphone, after some phones reportedly exploded while charging, was caused by a “battery cell issue”, the tech giant has said.

Koh Dong Jin, president of Samsung’s mobile communications business, called the recall and likely financial aftermath “heartbreaking”.

With the global announcement, the delivery for pre-booked units in Thailand was postponed indefinitely but there was no change to the retail launch date as of 5.30pm on Friday.

The recall, which involves about 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7s in countries around the globe, is the first of its scope for Samsung.

The Note 7 was launched in the US on August 19 and is the latest from Samsung to include a fast charging feature, which attempts to replenish about 50 percent of the battery in about 30 minutes.

Samsung shares fell Thursday on reports of problems with the Galaxy Note 7 battery but closed 0.6% higher Friday before the recall was confirmed.

South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency spoke to a Samsung official on the condition of anonymity a day before the recall announcement, on September 1. Samsung said it would replace devices under warranty if it failed, but it declined to let customers swap phones otherwise or to issue a broader recall. Samsung said in a statement that it is “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”.

“There was a tiny problem in the manufacturing process so it was very hard to find out”, Koh told reporters at a news conference.

“It will cost us so much it makes my heart ache”. China is not affected by the sales suspension because the batteries of smartphones sold there are made by another supplier.

He refused to name the battery supplier.

“If the exploded phone had burned near my head, I would not have been able to write this post”, she said in a popular online forum Thursday, where she shared a photo of the scorched Note 7 and described dousing the flames.