Samsung suspends Note 7 production until battery issue is resolved… again

The exploding Galaxy Note 7 smartphones saga could be described as Samsung’s worst and most embarrassing period in its smartphone history and now to try and save further embarrassment, the South Korean company has suspended production of the faulty Note 7.

• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recalled, sales stopped

The whole fiasco started at the beginning of September, at which point 35 cases of overheating batteries had been made. At the time, Samsung said it would replace faulty units and customers with one of the phones that hadn’t overheated, could replace theirs too, just in case. Since then, replacement units have also suffered the same fate which led Samsung to conduct a global recall of all phones to try and solve the problem.

Now, a report from South Korean news agency Yonhap, cites an unnamed source as saying Samsung will halt production of the Galaxy Note 7, however Samsung has yet to comment on that report. The BBC’s Technology Correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones has since tweeted an alleged statement from Samsung, which says: “We are temporarily adjusting the Galaxy Note 7 production schedule in order to take further steps to ensure quality and safety matters.”

Samsung statement on “adjustment” to Galaxy Note 7 production after reports of more battery fire issues pic.twitter.com/NGER6Yd7DY

— Rory Cellan-Jones (@ruskin147) 10 October 2016

It’s a huge blow for Samsung, as the Galaxy Note 7 is a genuinely good phone, when it works, although it hasn’t affected the company’s finances too much since it recently posted a 6 percent rise in profit.

• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 going back on sale from 28 September
• You’ll finally be able to buy a blast-free, safe Samsung Galaxy Note 7 from 28 October

As and when Samsung puts the phone back on sale, it could have a tough time of regaining consumer confidence. It would probably be a lot easier to completely shelve the Note 7 and bring the launch of the Galaxy S8 forward.