Samsung details causes of Note 7 fires but questions remain
SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — Samsung says a thorough investigation into the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 phone has confirmed widely held suspicions that its batteries were to blame, marking a first but important step toward restoring consumer confidence.
Samsung announced tighter quality controls and more rigorous testing and took responsibility for failing to ensure that design specifications given to its suppliers were failsafe. The South Korean company was also delaying its next Galaxy phone, the Galaxy S8, which is usually announced in February.
The spontaneous fires, many chronicled in videos circulated on YouTube, prompted Samsung to recall millions of phones and take a $5.3 billion hit on its earnings — and an unknown amount in reputation.
While praising Samsung’s frankness and apologies, analysts question whether the world’s largest smartphone maker has really gotten to the bottom of the problem in blaming flaws in the design and production of batteries.