When Samsung launched the much-awaited flagship model Galaxy Note 7, it aimed to target the high-end mobile market around the world. Everything went well as it was launched a few days before the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus and managed to get hundreds of thousands of pre-orders. The whole ‘happy faces’ in the company became depressed as soon as the news started popping up that Note 7 is exploding. Property damage, burn injuries, and ban of the smartphone from airlines around the world were just tip of the iceberg.
Samsung tried to control the situation
Samsung in order to calm down the panic recalled all the handsets and promised every user that they will either get a replacement or a refund. The worst was yet to come, though. Samsung thought the issue was with the battery and issued replacement handsets with a correct power source. The horror continued as the replacement phones also started to explode. So much so, the company had to recall the handsets again and shut down the manufacturing completely. At the moment, Samsung Note 7 is dead.
What will happen to the discarded phones?
Now the issue arises that what will happen to the recalled smartphones. Due to the unrecyclable nature of the modern smartphones, it is next to impossible to extract rare materials used in making these devices. Over 2 million Note 7 phones are now just a piece of brick and there is nothing that anyone can do. Samsung has made it clear that they will not repair or refurbish the Note 7 devices as it may be risky.
It is not good for environment and miners
The material that is used in the manufacturing of the smartphones comes from different mines around the world. The workers have to work in unfavorable toxic conditions and such manufacturing goof-up just add up to their misery. These hard-to-mine elements are now useless and will be way more costly in terms of environmental damage. Samsung has not said even a single word on how the company is planning to reduce the adverse effect on the environment and it looks like their whole concentration is on image repair and lowering losses.
Financially, it is the worst event in history!
Financially, Samsung has lost around $2 billion due to the Note 7 incident and it may end up losing a total of $17 billion in market shares and manufacturing losses combined. The company is sending all the customers fire proof boxes to get the handsets back. Transport is, even more, bigger issues as these handsets are not allowed on cargo planes as well which means that the company has to get them via road.
