Samsung’s exploding Galaxy Note 7 faces global recall

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The Galaxy Note 7 has an explosive new feature.
Photo: Samsung

Galaxy Note 7 owners might want to start getting ready to ship their devices back to Samsung, after a new report from South Korea claims the company is set to announce an unprecedented global recall.

Samsung’s recall could come as soon as this weekend. The company recently launched an investigation into users’ claims that the Note 7 has a tendency to explode while charging.

While a number of exploding smartphones in the past have been blamed on faulty third-party chargers, Samsung allegedly discovered that there is a problem with the battery on a small percentage of Galaxy Note 7 units.

“Products installed with the problematic battery account for less than 0.1 percent of the entire volume sold,” a Samsung official told Yonhap News. “The problem can be simply resolved by changing the battery, but we’ll come up with convincing measures for our consumers.”

While 0.1 sounds like an insignificant number, it’s actually a huge deal when you’re talking millions of units shipped. Luckily, no one has been hurt yet.

The new phablet launched just last month in 10 countries. Samsung is already talking to Verizon and other U.S. carriers about the logistics of the recall, details of which will be revealed by next week at the latest.

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