Samsung’s beleaguered Galaxy Note 7 has been hit with its latest embarrassing incident, after reports that its replacement batteries (you know, the one that don’t set fire to Jeeps) quickly overheat and lose battery power.
Is there anything this phone can get right?
For those who haven’t been following along, Samsung allegedly rushed development of its Note 7 in an attempt to gain a competitive edge against the iPhone 7, only to have to carry out an expensive recall after it turned out the phone batteries were prone to exploding.
[contextly_auto_sidebar]
For some reason, however, it seems that the replacement smartphones Samsung handed out — which feature non-removable batteries — are still riddled with problems. The complaints appear to have emanated from Samsung’s home turf of South Korea.
In a statement issued Sunday, Samsung said it is delaying the resumption of sales of its Galaxy Note 7 until October 1. But a company rep also claimed that the current issues are “isolated cases” and “completely unrelated to batteries.”
Still, you can’t blame consumers for being a bit worried, can you?
Source: Wall Street Journal
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
42 responses to “Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 battery problems just got more embarrassing”
Samsung must be turning thumbs off people and ripping their spine out in the basement for this….
You should look for a job at The Sun mate, your ‘journalism’ is at their level…
totally biased article. despite all the battery problems, Note 7 is still miles ahead of iPhone 7
Please give specifics about exactly how the Note 7 is miles ahead. Facts please, not generalities — and if your answer is “wireless charging”, it’s not something I need or even want.
I think the better statement is, there’s nothing the iPhone 7 does that the Note 7 doesn’t…they’re both very competitive with a different user base.
THANK YOU. So tired of these competitions about which phone is objectively better, when it’s really just about subjective taste.
Yes, and I’m someone that OWNS a Note 7. People just need to get over themselves.
The article wasn’t about iPhone. Obviously he feels the need to try to justify himself in relationship to an iPhone. If you’re confident in your phone I wouldn’t think you would need to do that
@steadymobb:disqus was replying to Zul Rizvi, who made this about the iPhone as compared to the Note 7. Both Steadymobb and I were simply trying to express that **both** are good, and saying “The phone I like is good, as is that other phone some people like,” is not “justifying” anything.
I am not a tech guru and for me small things matter, for example freedom of file transfer, unlike for iphone you are dependent on itunes. Note 7 offers more freedom while the iPhone 7 Plus is more locked down
So, freedom is important to you. Simplicity might be more important to other people, for whom the iPhone is the better choice. There’s no objectively “better” phone, just personal preference, and saying that one is better is just wrong.
And I say this as an S7 owner.
Yes freedom is def a huge factor for me. Thats why i switched from.iphone to android back in iphone 4 days and never looked back.
Hmm, file transfer. I’ve never had the need to use this feature, as I don’t use my phone that way. Are you saying the file transfer feature is what puts the Note 7 “miles ahead” or are there other specific features you’re referring to? I’m genuinely interested, because I see all these comments about Samsung being so far ahead of the iPhone but never hear exactly how this is so.
well my phone is basically my laptop, i use it for everything and to me file transfer it of utmost importance. Also NFC in iPhone is limited and dosent offer full capability like note 7.
How about the fact that the note uses android and not iOS… that alone puts every phone miles ahead of the iPhone!
Can you expand upon this idea of “freedom of file transfer”? What files are you trying to transfer to/from an iPhone that require the use of iTunes? Genuinely curious.
files means documents, movies, videos, songs etc. I can even download torrents directly on my note 7 and iPhone docent allow such luxury. just too many limitations
Never heard of Airdrop…? iCloud Drive?
i don’t use those cloud or any other online service where you can save your files. i only trust my own phone and save it on my memory card, obviously iPhone docent have memory card option either.
I never stop wonder how stupid people are. You only trust your phone to handle your files. I wonder what your excuse will be when you´re phone is stolen or lost and all your important files is gone. When you sitting there and crying about your precious phone i´m logging in and download all my important files.
There is nothing stupid about this. I always backed up my files in my laptop. It is just a matter of choice.
Can we please not call people stupid because we disagree with them? So he doesn’t trust cloud services, which have been proven vulnerable in the past. That’s his choice. If we devolve into calling people names, then we only come across as condescending and we can’t make progress in improving technology.
Airdrop is not cloud based dude, it’s an over the air wireless file transfer protocol…
The note 7 have a headphone jack :p
When it doesn’t burn down the house
Miles ahead in burning properties…but few minutes slow in opening some apps…of course I can look at highly saturated screen while my apps are loading…
Lol let me tell you the difference between note 7 iphone 7.
1) file transfer
2)best display
3)memory card slot
4) iris scanner
5) wireless charging
6) water resistant 1.5 meter
7) curved diaplay
8) 3rd party application
9) if we root our phones then you have no idea what can you do :p
10) gear vr
11) last but not least resonable price.
These are the things in which note 7 is miles away from iphone 7.
Iphone is faster then note 7 but 3 to 4 second max. Seriously i can wait for it.
And you know what, i m posting this comment from iphone6s but there are things where apple can’t reach. Apart from design apple only cahnge their antina things here and there :p
And i dont have note 7 yet, but the truth is truth :)
I always love a good debate, so here is my recant to your reasons that the Note 7 is better. I honestly don’t know why people always argue over this stuff. If you like Android that’s cool, but making up rubbish to justify the means is over the top.
1) File transfer – not needed (iCloud Drive on both Mac and iOS, files are the same, it’s magical)
2) Best Display – Not that your eyes can really tell, but yes it is a nicer screen. Verdict is out on this with the new iPhone 7 screen though as it is a lot better than the 6 and 6s variants.
3) Memory card slot – See point 1, a non issue, I always buy the biggest storage available, always have.
4) Iris Scanner – I personally think TouchID is much faster and way more reliable.
5) Wireless Charging – This is very slow, so not really a feature – You also can’t use your phone whilst on a charging pad.
6) Water resistant 1.5 meters – The iPhone 7 is too.
7) Useless gimmick, makes the phone more prone to damage and the actual use of this feature varies.
8) 3rd Party Application – The Apple AppStore has millions, and much better ones.
9) Rooting your phone is for devs, not for the general public, root your phone and get yourself owned, same goes for Jailbreaking.
10) Seriously? This is rubbish but still works with the iPhone. The new Vive VR is way better!
11) Samsung’s Note 7 is $1349 for 64GB and the iPhone 7 Plus in 128GB is $1419 AUD, the iPhone is actually better value for money?
Actually you can see the difference between a 720p and a 1080p display, admitedly not much, but that extra crispness does look amazing. The iPhone 7 uses an OLED display, the Note7 has a Super AMOLED, which many may argue it doesn’t matter, I’ve seen both, and I can say that the SAMOLED gives the screen a much larger range of colors, and it helps save battery. The memory card slot can go up to a max of 200 gigs, and is great for transfering large numbers of RAW format photos quickly. The wireless charging is actually very fast, and is on par or slightly faster than the normal fast charging. The Note7’s water resist is IP68 rating, the iPhone7’s is IP67, which the S4 Active and S5 had 3 and 4 years ago. The Play Store has just as many apps as the app store, and many developers nowadays make apps for both platforms, 3rd party apps simply add things the play store doesn’t have. Many people root their phones so they can get the highest level of personalization on their phones, and while it is something that you should only do if you know how to work it, it isnt something only devs can do. And the fact that the iPhone7 with twice the storage of the Note7 doesn’t mean you get better value, the iPhone 7 doesn’t have a stylus, or a fast charger, or a nicer screen, and for the good camera, you need to spend extra on the Plus.
The iPhone 7 Plus which is what I was comparing to actually has a 1080 screen and the better camera for the prices I listed. The base iPhone 7 is 720 yes. I agree the SAMOLED is a better screen but not enough to sway me to Android.
I like the Apple environment, all my apps work together, my house is wired for AirPlay as this came out long before any of the NFC rubbish that’s out now. I run a single device for all my consumption (Apple TV 4th Gen), I use Plex for my content, Netflix and iTunes for everything else with one remote for my entire setup (Apple TV remote now controls other devices, my AMP and TV included). I’ve got CarPlay in the car so my dash is my phone with all my music, messages etc all accessible right on the dash.
I don’t rate a stylus as a requirement, I’ve never needed or wanted one, if it can’t be done fast with my fingers it becomes counter productive, especially on a 5.5 inch screen, I’d pick up my MacBook Pro for anything else and with handoff I can just pick up where I was on my iOS device. Fiddling around with a stylus is back to 2002 right there.
I know the play store has lots of apps, however they are nearly always released for iOS first with Android much later (I’m talking major apps and games). Examples: DropBox, Workflow, The Adobe Apps, Microsoft Remote Desktop, Citrix Receiver, LinkedIn, Facebook, eBay, the list goes on, they were all released first on iOS, they also operated far better in the early days and can be argued that they still are. You only have to watch the Note 7 vs the iPhone 7 in a speed test, it gets lapped for productivity.
The Android user base also has a much higher piracy rate which also explains why devs develop for iOS first, no point spending their life making an app only to have it pirated, yes that is a fact. I used to jailbreak all the time, I just find now it slows your phone down and causes more crashes than anything. iOS is slowly being opened up and really is being steered by the jailbreak community anyway.
As for transferring large files quickly, AirDrop kicks ass (Available on both iOS and OSX) as it’s a wireless protocol, so it will do AC speeds (and point to point, not over your home wireless) which would be faster than the flash memory that you stuff in your Note even when accessed by the USB connection or card reader, not to mention way more convenient.
Fast charging has proven to ruin your battery so I’m not sure I want that feature anyway, it means you’re charging more often which as you would know ruins your battery faster and as I stated the phone is useless once it is on the charging plate. I charge my phone overnight (and my house hasn’t burned down) and it lasts easily to the next day.
Good thing I suppose that we have the power of choice and we can get what we want. I know I’m on a good thing and won’t be swayed to something that’s not as integrated into my life.
Not trying to argue, but I’d like to throw in my two cents as well:
1. Cloud storage has some downsides, namely security and data caps. There are some data that I don’t want to risk, personally, so I store it locally. I also like to store files on my phone to transfer them between devices, or have access on the road, without needing to use my mobile data.
2. As SovietAmerican notes below, the high PPI display of some Android phones is very nice – the extra density makes fonts much smoother, making reading very comfortable.
3. The memory card slot can be nice for people who get the lower-tier phone at first (perhaps they receive it as a gift?), and want to later expand the storage. A 200GB microSD card is a lot cheaper than a $100 storage tier.
4. Agreed, the Iris Scanner is a gimmick, nothing more. Fingerprint scanners are the way to go.
5. Newer wireless charging models are actually very fast. On my S7, the Fast Wireless is very similar to the Fast Wired Charging – no more than 5min extra for a fill charge. It’s true that it’s more difficult to use a phone while wireless charging, but there are also plenty of cases when people charge and don’t need to use their phone.
6. Fair point, both are good at water resistance.
7. I’m also not a fan of the curved display. Looks great as an aesthetic feature when the phone is just sitting there, but doesn’t add to the user experience.
8. Both App Stores have a good selection of high quality apps, even Android. Apple just does a better job of curating.
9. Rooting can be fun to play with for older phones, as a toy for tinkering, but not really needed in everyday use anymore.
10. VR will eventually become more popular, and it’s already a fun little toy, but definitely not a requirement. That being said, it’s nice to have a phone that can do it if you want to.
11. “Better value” really calls into question what someone values, and that’s subjective. The iPhone would be a better value if all features of the phone other than storage held equal, but they do not (display, camera, pen support, etc), so it’s not really a fair comparison. One person may feel that a phone is a better value for the features they want, while someone else may think the other phone is better for them.
Constructive conversation is what I would call it, good to hear both sides.
My wireless charger, charge my phone just as fast as if it was plugged in and I can use the phone as it is doing it…
By doing it, you mean you can really awkwardly use your phone whilst its on the charging plate? I’m not sold, you also can’t take a call whilst it is charging unless you use hands free. It is MUCH easier to use your phone when it is plugged in via a cable. Just my opinion though.
For the price they charge it’s a shame they have to do this. At this price I expect extensive testing for a great device. I understand mistakes happen but twice they are having problems? This shows no thought or testing was put into user experience and just how many can we sell? And how fast can we put it on market?
Because through testing 1 out of every 1000 phones theyre going to find those tiny percentage that have the battery problem
I agree there will always be lemons. I just feel it was rushed.
It’s actually released at around the same time every year
Childish hateful article
Boom boom boom let’s keep it in your room and we’ll set a blaze tonight …
To everyone calling bias conspiracy on this… the site’s called Cult of Mac. What’s your point?
I had mine replaced over a week ago and haven’t had any problems yet…