14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung isn’t taking any risks with batteries on its smartphones after the Note 7 fiasco, and the company is also planning ahead, with a new report claiming the South Koreans started recruiting battery experts from all over the world.
While Samsung collaborated with experts and researchers from several institutes in the Note 7 nightmare, the firm now wants to hire engineers that could help not only reduce the risks of batteries catching fire on its models, but also to contribute to the development of new technologies that would increase the capacity of batteries while reducing overheating as much as possible.
Korean site The Investor reports that Samsung is primarily seeking engineers in the United States and in Europe, with several candidates already interviewed last month. The company is particularly interested in engineers with a master’s or doctorate degree in battery science, as well as people with expertise in battery materials and cell development.
No longer taking any risks
Samsung is playing the safe card for its future models, so not only the company has a dedicated team in charge of overseeing the battery design, inspection, and production, but it also appointed other experts to conduct a series of tests, including X-ray inspections and random sampling after receiving batteries from its suppliers.
The Note 7 batteries that caught fire were manufactured by Samsung SDI and ATL, while the Galaxy S8 gave up on the latter, presumably for Samsung to have more control over the manufacturing process.
At the same time, the company is also taking a more cautious approach for the next Note, with the battery unit slightly smaller than expected at just 3,300 mAh. While this should help get you through the day, the Note 8 was originally predicted to feature a larger battery, though Samsung is believed to have reduced the capacity in order to minimize the risks of overheating.
The Note 8 should see daylight in the next few months, with August 23 now rumored to be the date when Samsung could take the wraps off the device at a New York event.