14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung already confirmed that it would announce the results of its investigation into Galaxy Note 7 flaws on January 23. The company’s media briefing will be broadcasted live around the world and Samsung will also announce the measures that it took for avoiding a similar recall in the future.
Samsung will allegedly blame the Galaxy Note 7 flaw on irregularly sized batteries and manufacturing faults, according to The Wall Street Journal. Sources familiar with the matter have stated for the WSJ that Samsung hired three independent “quality-control and supply-chain analysis firms” to conduct the investigation.
Two separate issues with the Galaxy Note 7 were found by these labs. Reports from last year also pointed to the fact that Samsung contracted third-party labs to work on the investigation, while South Korean agencies also conducted probes of their own and are expected to release their results in the coming months.
Batteries and “manufacturing issues” were to blame
The first issue that independent labs found regarded the batteries made by Samsung’s subsidiary Samsung SDI. It appears that the batteries weren’t properly fitted inside the phone, which led to overheating and damage to the device and its owners in some cases.
During the first recall of the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung believed that by switching from Samsung SDI as the battery supplier to Amperex Technology, the replaced Note 7 phones won’t be having the same problem. A report from last week did say that the battery was to blame for Note 7’s demise, as no hardware design or software issues were found.
It seems that Samsung’s rush to replace Note 7 units and put the matter to rest led to the second fault – unknown “manufacturing issues” created by pressure to quickly meet production demands. The nature of these manufacturing issues will be disclosed on Monday, together with the quality assurance and testing measures that Samsung took in order to avoid such incidents from occurring in the future.
This report certainly sheds some light over the results of Samsung’s investigation, while full disclosure is expected on Monday.