In the end it all came down to two unique flaws in two different sets of batteries, coupled with an overtaxed QA system constantly being pushed by the demands of high profile smartphone hardware market.
On Sunday, Samsung presented a tedious (almost one hour-long) presentation outlining the findings of the largest electronic device recall in recent memory. The recall involved some 2.5 million Galaxy 7 Note smartphones, and a $5 billion write-off from the world’s top smartphone supplier, that came on the eve of the 2016 Christmas buying season. Samsung To Explain Combustible Note 7s.
The findings from Samsung were based on three (count-em) investigations, two of them independent (UL and Exponent Inc.) commissioned by the company. On the Samsung side, a whopping 700 of the company’s finest from its gold standard R&D division, tore into some 30,000 batteries, and tested 200K phones. One battery supplier, a Samsung affiliate (Samsung SDI Co.) was first implicated in “overheating problems” on the flagship Galaxy Note 7, from one or both of its production lines located in South Korea and Vietnam. The other two battery suppliers for the ill fated device include Hong Kong-based Amperex Technology Ltd. and mainland China based ATI. Samsung accepts full responsibility for the battery design flaws that led to the problems.
X-ray of both failed batteries used in the Galaxy Note 7, source: companyThe findings independently confirmed Samsung’s assertion that the overheating problems with the Galaxy Note 7 did not stem from device hardware or software issues, or anywhere outside the battery supply-chain. It’s a remarkable finding, considering that both batteries (Battery A that initially failed), and replacement battery supplier (Battery B) were found to have independent design flaws, not linked to any other design or manufacturing issue, in one of the most complex and technology dense consumer devices ever manufactured.
The WSJ in its editorial article on the subject, by Fowler and Stern, gives the company just a passing grade of “C” for all the effort, claiming the company is still lacking a “Tylenol moment.” This is in reference to the design packaging and tamper-proof safety changes that Johnson and Johnson made after the horrific 1982 cyanide tampering of its over-the-counter analgesic (pain reliever).
Other revelations from the Sunday conference call (it took place Monday AM in S. Korea) include, that from a total of over 3 million devices sold, only 330 devices (batteries) failed. Granted, they did (or could) catch fire so that’s a very bad thing. So bad that Samsung continues to get negative publicity every time anyone flies on a US carrier. After three recent flights since the recall, I’ve heard at least one, and usually two, announcements from airline personnel both on the plane and in the waiting area, to surrender your Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone before boarding the aircraft, “…this is an FAA banned device.” Yikes, can it get any worse?
So with hopes of putting this all into the past, Samsung made its apologies to all that had touched the device and especially the .011% of users (those 330 of some 3 million plus). The company is also delaying its launch of the next flagship Galaxy Note 8 smartphone until after the Mobile World Congress in February, to, probably, some time in early Q2. – Steve Sechrist
