Shabiha Nur Khatoon
Top executives of Samsung, the giant South Korean conglomerate, got into firefighting mode soon after the disturbing news poured in that it’s flagship product, Galaxy Note 7’s
battery is susceptible to overheating and highly inflammable. As instances of cell explosions were subsequently reported, the company issued a drastic recall of all Note 7 handsets sold and promised replacement. Although the response has been super-swift, experts believe Samsung’s consumer confidence has taken a heavy beating
Samsung, the South Korean electronics giant, is always in the limelight for the special features of its products, with every new series providing users a lot more options than the last one. This year, the Samsung Galaxy S7 series sold well after its introduction in India and everything was going on just about fine for the company till it hit the headlines for all the wr ong reasons in the first week of September. News reports claimed Samsung Galaxy Note 7’s battery could easily explode.
Samsung confirmed dozens of cases where Note 7 batteries caught fire or exploded, mostly while charging. It plans a software update that will cap battery recharging at 60 per cent capacity to help minimise risks of overheating. Meanwhile, it is urging owners to keep their phones turned off until they get them replaced.
After 35 reported incidents of batteries exploding while being charged, Samsung decided to recall every piece of the phone without taking chances. After all, Note 7 was a flagship product, one that skipped a version to catch up with its rival. Experts believe the long-term damage of Samsung’s image has been contained by the way the company reacted and decided to replace all phones it had shipped so far. However, the electronics major has to work hard on devices that are on the anvil to send out the right message to consumers.
The Federal Aviation Administration has officially advised against using or charging the Note 7 while on flights, and now that the US Consumer Product Safety Commission has officially recalled the phone, it’s actually illegal to do so. Three airlines in Australia have gone a step further placing effective ban on phones carried in planes.
Transport Canada has issued a statement recommending “the Note 7 to be carried in the cabin where an incident can be immediately mitigated, and not in checked baggage.”
In the wake of Samsung’s recall of Note 7, Australian airlines Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia “banned” passengers from using or charging their Note 7s on board flights, though switched off devices may still be brought on board.
The Indian ministry of civil aviation has announced that travellers in the country should stop using the Note 7 in flights. It further advised passengers to not pack or store the phone in their check-in baggage. The United States, Australia. Singapore, UAE, Pakistan and the Philippines have also issued similar advisories to their respective airlines.
On September 20 the Korean electronics giant said that 5,00,000 replacements for the tablet-sized phones, recalled because of problems with igniting batteries, had arrived in the US and would be available for exchange. So far it has exchanged 25 per cent of Note 7 devices owned by US consumers.
But a recent survey conducted by SurveyMonkey, online survey development cloud-based software company, suggests that many of the original buyers, the fans who rushed to get the critically acclaimed phone in the first weeks, may avoid the Note 7 on the second go-around.
The survey found that more than a third of those who own the phone would opt for a refund rather than replacement. Arish Zaveri, a marketing manager based in Dubai, said: “The Samsung Note 7 as an alternative phone was quite handy but the data isn’t protected. Hence, as a user, I am willing to spend on technology that serves my ends. Shifting handsets is never easy as users have their individual styles of usage and opinions.”
About 35 per cent of the respondents in the survey said they would seek a refund, while 26 per cent said they would buy an iPhone from Apple — Samsung’s major competitor in the US. While another 21 per cent said they would opt for a different Samsung phone, the remaining 18 per cent were of the view that they would stick to Note 7.
The handset received a great market post launch in August this year, selling more than 2.5 million units in the first few weeks and posing a possible threat to the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus which debuted in September.
David Rogers, a branding expert and faculty member at Columbia Business School, writes: “Samsung has built a strong following with consumers buying multiple versions of its phones. It is in a position of strength as the second largest brand in the smartphone category after Apple. If this was a start-up, it would have a problem.”
In the context of the recent battery fiasco, Samsung has issued a software update to Galaxy Note 7 phones in the US that intimates users about their devices being recalled.
The software update displays a green battery icon at the top of the Note 7’s screen – if one is using a model with a stable battery. Users who have a Note 7 that still needs to be returned will see a warning message telling them to power the device down and take it back to the store. The warning will show up every time users turn on their device.
Samsung has announced a recall of the Note 7 along with a halting of sales after concerns of faulty components causing battery explosions. That’s scary, and product recalls aren’t fun for anyone to deal with. For users it is vital they know everything about the recall and how to handle their own Note 7.
Celebrity fashion consultant Darasing Khurana said: “Before Apple announced its iPhone 7, Samsung was already making a lot of noise with its release of the Note 7. I am an Apple fan, be it MacBook, iPad, iPhone or iPod – I own them all with pride. But I needed to get a second number and, therefore, decided to buy another handset as iPhones do not support dual SIM. The Note 7 seemed appealing and its latest feature – the Iris scanner that lets you unlock your phone with your eyes – grabbed my attention. Soon I realised the features didn’t work well for me. The Iris scanner failed to recognise my eyes! The phone started heating up fast during long conversations. Samsung has called back the phones for replacement due to the battery issue. I have decided to give up Samsung.”
LACUNA
Samsung’s official statement on the recall says that the issue related to the battery cells used in some Note 7s lines up with the earlier reports of phones catching fire and exploding. Low-quality cells are susceptible to overheating or failing when charged or used heavily. A report by Korean regulators indicated an error in production that placed pressure on plates contained within battery cells. That, in turn, brought negative and positive poles into contact, triggering excessive heat.
Vishesh Jaswani, a smartphone hardware engineer based in Mumbai, explained the story behind battery explosion: “There is a chip which stops the flow of electricity from charging when the phone is fully charged, but in the Note 7, the chip is defective. Not only the chip but also the S pen is defective which gets stuck in the middle of the work. The battery controversy has not only affected sales but has raised questions about consumer confidence,” he said.
At the time of the company’s official recall in the US, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said it had investigated 92 official reports of overheating and/or explosions.
Estelle Mehta, a technology consultant, said: “The overheating issue while on charge is yet unaddressed. The company has promised to dole out new pieces, but for the time being it is merely replacing the old ones. Above all, users have lost trust and don’t want to take a chance. After the battery blasting issue, I have decided to select the best available option – the Apple iPhone 7.”
Why do batteries explode?
Battery explosion is not a new thing. News reports testify to wide-ranging battery recalls which affect thousands of units. Modern rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are engineered to anticipate and combat thermal runaway — the feedback loop in which a
battery can overheat and explode.
Below are some basic precautions you can take to prevent your phone battery from going barmy.
* Don’t Stab Your Phone
Some people are intent on not only damaging their devices, but murdering them. Don’t stab your phone
* Don’t charge in low temperatures
Lithium-ion batteries should never be charged in a sub-freezing environment because repeated frigid re-ups can cause permanent ‘plating of metallic lithium’ that can lead to battery failure
* Brand conscious
While buying a battery go for a branded one. Don’t buy a cheap battery that will surely cost you less but the aftereffects are likely to be dangerous. Fret not about spending extra bucks when it comes to choosing the right battery. Among phone batteries, a 3100- 3200 MH lithium-ion battery is best as per the configuration of the mother board .
Naveen Goyal, co-founder of repaireasy.in, a gadget repair platform, raised questions over losing sales, brand reputation and consumer confidence. “Sometimes things don’t go as planned. What sets one apart is how one handles situations. Samsung has handled the fiasco admirably well by immediately ordering a mass recall and replacement. Although it affects consumer confidence, reputation and sales, that is generally short term and goes back up if the situation is handled well.”
USER GUIDELINES
Naveen said: “Buying a top of the line smartphone is generally based on brand perception and brand affinity of the user. These smartphones have all the bells and whistles you can imagine and you can hardly differentiate in terms of technical or hardware specifications. However, check out…
• Availability of manufacturer service centres in your city
• Online reviews from existing users of the model
• Heavy users focus on battery capacity. Gamers tend to pick up phones with a large screen size, generally around 5 inches or more. The bare minimum specification is 2 GB RAM and 32 GB memory. Above all, a battery should last me the whole day.”