Samsung Introduces Updated Inspection Process Before Galaxy Note 8 Release
- by Carmen Reese
- in Science
- — Jan 24, 2017
"For the last several months, together with independent industry expert organizations, we conducted (a) thorough investigation", Koh Dong-jin, Samsung's smartphone division chief told reporters.
Another report by Sammobile suggests that the handset could see a fourth physical button and Samsung's new digital voice assistant will be called 'Bixby.' Samsung is also rumoured to eliminate the home button from the upcoming Galaxy S8 device.
The smartphones were in the headlines a year ago when their fires injured people, destroyed a auto and caused the evacuation of a Southwest Airlines flight. One of the battery makers was a Samsung affiliate company, Samsung SDI, which made about 65% of the Note 7 batteries, although this company manufactured the initial battery, not its replacement, which was developed by Amperex Technology Limited, a Hong Kong based battery supplier which supplied the remaining 35%.
But Samsung did acknowledge that it may have asked too much of its battery suppliers.
For years, Samsung has announced its flagship Galaxy S smartphones ahead of Mobile World Congress (MWC), a major industry conference held in Barcelona in February or March.
Looking ahead, Samsung said it has added a "broad range of internal quality and safety processes to further enhance product safety" while forming a "Battery Advisory Group" to ensure that similar problems do not arise.
We reported not long ago about a source who claimed the Galaxy S8 will be present at MWC 2017, but it won't be showcased for the public. Apple's new device won't launch until September, however, giving Samsung a big five month lead time, despite the later launch date.
New Samsung smartphones to be released this year will have enough room for the battery to expand and feature updates of software algorithms to prevent overcharging and overheating, according to the tech firm. If the company continues its current trend of releasing both curved and non-curved models, however, expect pricing to be broadly in line with previous years. The S8 will nearly certainly sell millions of devices, but up against Google, flush from a successful Pixel launch and an aircraft carrier full of marketing money, will the Galaxy S still have the same impact it once did?
The company said 700 hundred researchers and engineers tested more than 200,000 devices and more than 30,000 batteries and replicated what happened with the Note 7 phones trying to pin down why some of the phones were overheating.
Going forward, the company will institute new battery safety measures, including what it described as an "8-point battery safety check".
Samsung has a mountain to climb with regard to trust issues, given that "exploding phone" could endure in smartphone history.
Samsung said Monday that 96% of about 3 million Note 7 devices have been returned.