In late August, Samsung began delaying shipments of new Galaxy Note 7 phones amid reports of exploding and overheating devices. Then right before Labor Day it informally declared a sort-of recall without going through official channels or offering a proven remedy for the flaw. Now, two weeks later, the company has finally made the high-profile recall official. [More]
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Samsung Explains Battery Flaw Behind Overheated, Exploding Galaxy Note 7
By 9.13.16
Even though the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has — as of Tuesday morning — yet to be officially recalled in the U.S., we now have a slightly better idea of the underlying flaw in the device’s battery that has resulted in dozens of incidents of Note 7s overheating or exploding. [More]
Airlines Verbally Warning Passengers To Not Use Samsung Note 7 During Flights
By 9.12.16
Days after the Federal Aviation Administration put out a statement asking passengers not to use or charge their Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones on a plane following reports of exploding and smoking devices, some travelers say airlines are taking additional steps to ensure those devices are turned off. [More]
Samsung Phone Reportedly Explodes In Hand Of 6-Year-Old
By 9.12.16
UPDATE: The NY Post has revised — without any mention of a correction — its original story to now clarify that the phone involved in this incident was not a Note 7, but apparently a lesser-known Samsung Galaxy phone, the Core Prime. We have corrected the story below to reflect this important change. [More]
Samsung Changes Galaxy Note 7 Box After Non-Recall; Database Coming Next Week
By 9.9.16
Despite what headlines might say, the occasionally-exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has not yet been recalled. Samsung has a “product exchange program” for owners of the device, and stores have been told not to sell it, but an official recall through the Consumer Products Safety Commission hasn’t yet happened. However, Samsung has announced how you’ll be able to tell which phones have the purportedly defective battery and which don’t. [More]
Federal Safety Commission Urges Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Owners To Stop Using, Charging Devices; Still No Official Recall
By 9.9.16
A week after Samsung said that it would eventually be recalling the recently released Galaxy Note 7 phones over reports of exploding and smoking devices, the tech giant has yet to finalize an official recall with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Regardless, the CPSC is now publicly urging anyone who has one of these devices to stop using or charging their phone. [More]
Samsung Trying To Pay To Get Its Stuff Off Stranded Hanjin Ships
By 9.9.16
For more than a week, dozens of container ships operated by Hanjin Shipping have been stranded at sea after the company’s sudden bankruptcy filing, delaying deliveries for goods just as retailers are stocking up for the holiday shopping season. Now Samsung is asking a judge for help to get its stuff out of Hanjin’s hands. [More]
FAA: Pretty Please Do Not Use Or Charge Your Exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 On A Plane
By 9.9.16
Exploding phones are never a good thing, unless maybe you’re writing a James Bond movie. But they’re an exceptionally bad thing in a crowded, high-pressure space where emergency workers can’t reach you… like an airplane. So the FAA is asking you, please, pretty please: if you have a Galaxy Note 7 could you, you know, not use it or charge it on your flight? [More]
FAA Considers Banning Samsung Galaxy Note 7; Another User Reports Explosion
By 9.7.16
Samsung still hasn’t officially recalled the Galaxy Note 7, its new smartphone that has a rare but very problematic issue with exploding batteries. While the company has admitted that the phones are defective and has an exchange program in place, it’s not an official recall through the Consumer Products Safety Commission. That’s a problem for the Federal Aviation Administration, since the phone would automatically be banned from planes if it had been recalled. It hasn’t, so it’s not. [More]
Samsung Announces “Product Exchange Program” For Galaxy Note 7 — But Don’t Call It A Recall
By and 9.2.16
Despite confirming to media outlets earlier today that the Galaxy Note 7 would be “recalled” — implying that the company would soon go through official regulatory channels — Samsung has gone ahead and announced details of a “product exchange program” that is not, in actuality, an official recall. [More]
Samsung Will Recall Galaxy Note 7 After Reports Of Battery Explosions, Fires (But Hasn’t Done It Yet)
By and 9.2.16
The Bankruptcy Of A Company You’ve Probably Never Heard Of Could Make Christmas More Expensive
By 9.1.16
Unless you’re a stevedore or are involved in logistics, you’re probably not terribly familiar with Hanjin Shipping out of South Korea. So news of the company’s bankruptcy filing on Wednesday may have been slightly off your radar. But when one of the world’s largest shipping companies goes belly-up, it can have ripple effects that may mess with your holiday. [More]
Samsung Delays Galaxy Note 7 Shipments After Reports Of Explosions, Fires
By 8.31.16
Following Korean news reports of the batteries in some new Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones catching fire or exploding, Samsung says it is delaying shipments of the device pending additional quality control testing. [More]
Samsung Shutting Down “Milk” Streaming Music Service
By 8.22.16
Just two years after launching its own streaming music service, Samsung will shutter Milk Music next month. [More]
Samsung Reportedly Preparing To Sell Refurbished Phones Starting Next Year
By 8.22.16
If you’re not willing to pay full price on a brand new phone but still want a premium device, you may have another option soon: a new report says Samsung has plans to launch a program offering refurbished versions of its phones as early as next year. [More]
Samsung And AT&T Won’t Tell You If Your Galaxy S7 Active Isn’t Waterproof, Or Extend Warranty
By 8.8.16
You might be familiar with the Samsung S7 Active smartphone, which both the manufacturer and its exclusive retailer, AT&T, advertise as being waterproof. Our phone-dunking colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports tested that claim and found the S7 Active lacking, with two test phones failing after a simulated 5-foot dunk in a water tank. Yet it turns out AT&T employees aren’t aware of this issue, and owners of the phone won’t get a lifetime warranty for liquid damage. [More]
It Takes Dozens Of Companies To Make Your iPhone
By 8.5.16
Where does your mobile phone actually come from? What company makes it? How many people — how many businesses, how many factories, how many hands — were involved in its making? Most of us probably have no idea whatsoever how to answer those questions. [More]
Best Buy Closing 160 Samsung Mini-Stores, Expanding 250 Others
By 8.3.16
In recent years, Best Buy has taken to carving up some of its stores’ square footage and turning those areas into stores-within-a-store, including a slew of Samsung Experience Shops. Three years into the project, it seems the retailer is changing a few things up. [More]
