Samsung recalls Galaxy Note 7 globally amid battery explosion fears

Tech giant Samsung Electronics said it will replace the newly launched Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices globally as reports of the smartphone's battery exploding while charging emerged on social media. The recall comes a week before Samsung's rival Apple is expected to launch its new iPhone model.

Issuing a global rollback, the Korean firm confirmed that there is a battery cell issue with the phone and that there are at least 35 confirmed cases around the world. The company said in a statement that it is conducting a thorough inspection with the suppliers to identify affected batteries in the market.

"For customers who already have Galaxy Note7 devices, we will voluntarily replace their current device with a new one over the coming weeks," it said.

The tech giant will halt sales of the device indefinitely until the problem is resolved. The recall will affect markets including the US and South Korea, but not China, as the model launched in that country features a different battery, according to Reuters.

Koh Dong-jin, head of Samsung's mobile business earlier said the company had sold about 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 devices so far.

Samsung's mobile division accounted for about 54% of the firm's January-June operating profit of 14.8 trillion won, Reuters reported.

Flagship phone

Galaxy Note 7, Samsung's latest flagship device, was launched on 2 August. It went on sale in 10 countries on 10 August and was launched in India a day later.

Samsung has now decided to delay sales of Galaxy Note 7 in India, the Press Trust of India reported, citing a company spokesman. The device was to be made available in the Indian market from Friday.

The company did not specify a revised date to start selling the device in India, the report said.

Priced at Rs 59,000, the phone has a 3,500 mAh battery. It comes with a curved 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED screen and is equipped with 64 Bit, Octa-Core processor (2.3GHz Quad + 1.6GHz Quad) and 4GB RAM. This is the first device in the Note family to be water resistant to a maximum depth of 1.5 metres for up to 30 minutes.

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