It's been almost two weeks since Samsung announced the recall of 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, and there are many factors involved in the aftermath of such a decision. 70% of the Galaxy Note 7 batteries were manufactured by Samsung SDI, and the company has decided to take action on this issue.
Initially, Samsung decided to contract with Amperex Technology Limited (ATL) to manufacture all batteries in the replacement units that will be available on September 19 in Europe. There have been numerous reports of overheating and fire when charging Galaxy Note 7 smartphones with the charger that was originally provided in the box.
The company said the 35 cases of batteries catching fire were reported before the recall was announced, and recent data shows that the 70 cases reported in the U.S. have occurred since the smartphone went on sale in August. 30% of the batteries in the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones were made by ATL in China, so the company decided to make ATL the primary battery supplier for the smartphones.
Reuters reports that the company will stop sourcing Galaxy Note 7 batteries from Samsung SDI. Apparently, what caused the fires in the Note 7 smartphones was a manufacturing defect. The overheating occurred when the negative and positive terminals came into contact, causing the battery to explode.
Meanwhile, the company is recalling 1,858 Galaxy Note 7 units from China, even though the country is not among the 10 markets where sales stopped at the beginning of the month.
