14 DAY TRIAL // Almost a week has passed since Samsung stopped sales of the Galaxy Note 7 and issued a recall because multiple cases of devices catching fire were reported. The South Korean giant declared that about 35 cases were brought to light until the time of the recall announcement and that Note 7 owners would get replacements or full refunds.
There are some customers who have placed pre-orders for a Galaxy Note 7 device and have yet to receive their units, since Samsung has obviously stopped shipments. In India, the company has announced that each customer will get a free Gear VR headset for their Note 7 pre-orders, as Samsung wants to make up for delayed shipments.
Customers will also get credits that they can use in the Oculus Store for accessing VR content. It seems that Samsung didn't initially provide any free accessories with the Galaxy Note 7 in India, as opposed to other countries where customers will receive free 256GB microSD cards.
Samsung customers from India will also receive credits worth $50
Indian users could have benefited from a price reduction for the Gear VR, making the headset available for just $30. Now the company is offering the Gear VR for free and throwing in $50 of credits. The company is also offering refunds, as customers are expected to call Samsung's customer care to get their money back on the Gear VR.
Samsung's move in India could be perceived as a sign of gratitude towards customers who didn't cancel their orders and still wish to receive their Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. In fact, a report from South Korea stated that many customers who pre-ordered the Galaxy Note 7 wouldn't request refunds, as they're loyal fans and feel they couldn't find a replacement for the device.
For now, it's quite unclear when the Galaxy Note 7 will be available for purchase again, but considering that the replacement program could take a few weeks, we might see the device back on shelves sometime in October at best.