Regulators will out results of their own Note 7 probe

Feb 3, 2017 11:46 GMT  ·  By

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 recall produced major negative effects to the company’s brand image and forced Samsung to implement a very thorough and detailed plan for testing new smartphones before shipping.

Samsung recently announced the results of its investigation into Galaxy Note 7 cases, concluding that the battery was to blame after all, despite the fact that the product was recalled twice and contained batteries from two makers.

But the whole Galaxy Note 7 fiasco isn’t over yet, as the South Korean government conducted an investigation of its own and is expected to announce results on February 6, according to The Investor. The results are expected to be similar to the ones that Samsung recently presented.

Samsung reported the first Note 7 incident after 10 days

Korean regulators also intend to force smartphone makers to immediately inform them whenever a phone explodes or bursts into flames. The new regulation will be announced next week and will reportedly force smartphone makers to immediately launch an investigation, according to an official from The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The official said that it took Samsung 10 days to report the first Galaxy Note 7 incident to the government and that the timeframe for reporting such incidents wasn’t regulated at the time. The new regulation will be implemented within a year and the ministry intends to hold hearings with smartphone makers and industry experts on the matter.

This could mean that the upcoming Galaxy S8 won’t be subject to toughened regulations, although we doubt that Samsung will take any chances with the new phone. In addition, Samsung’s new 8-test plan for new smartphones should spot any user safety risks early on, before the phone even leaves the plant.

It remains to be seen how regulators will implement the new law and if other governments from around the world will follow. We have seen many cases in which smartphones caught fire, particularly because of their lithium-ion batteries which can be quite unstable if not handled with care or produced properly.