Note7 Exchange Halted

Two months. For Samsung, it probably felt like an eternity as the Note7 went from cradle to grave.

The Note7, Samsung’s ‘best’ phone yet was plagued with battery and overheating issues and could result in a costly 17 billion bill for Samsung. In Singapore, sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note7 have been stopped amidst reports of exchanged units catching fire too. Consequently, production has been stopped which would mark the end of the Note7. 

Damage Control

August 2016. Samsung had a fantastic year till date. The runaway success of the S7, increased market share in VR, launch of Samsung Pay, and all these were to culminate with the Note7. The phone once held so much promise for Samsung but the only action left is damage control to minimise further hits on the reputation. No surprises that consumers are upset. I can imagine the frustration in backing up, setting up the replacement and now you can’t even use the phone as it is a safety hazard.

Singapore customers will be able to exchange their Galaxy Note7 for another device, with a refund of the price difference between devices. Alternatively, they may return their Galaxy Note7 for a refund.

Who to step up?

It’s quite possible that the Note series would end here as Samsung would want to dis-associate with the phone. We will see. For now, current Note7 users need to plan which phone to switch to. The suitable Note7 replacements would be the Pixel XL, iPhone 7 Plus, the LG V20 and maybe the Sony Xperia XZ. Otherwise, the smaller Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is a good choice considering its similarity to the Note7.