Before a big launch, you would think that product quality testing would be at the forefront of everybody's mind. The last thing you need when you're about to put your beautiful new baby on the market is a surprise. The stakes are sky-high. But, apparently, the quality testers can't catch absolutely everything. Something unpredictable can always fall through the cracks.
That's bad news for Samsung, makers of the Galaxy line of smartphones. They're in some serious trouble now, and it's because of a quality assurance issue that didn't get caught. And yet, it could be even worse...
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It was supposed to be a moment of triumph for electronics giant Samsung.
At least, the new Galaxy Note 7 should have put the company in a position to challenge Apple's iPhone 7. The reviewers at CNET called it "the sexiest large-screen phone ever."
All the early reviews agreed that Samsung had produced an incredible phone.
With a huge, bright screen with wraparound glass, lots of memory, water resistance, and a built-in stylus, this could have been the game-changing phone for Samsung.
Big is kind of Samsung's thing — they kicked off the too-big-to-be-a-phone-too-small-to-be-a-tablet phablet market with the original Galaxy Note and they've been refining their product ever since.
And the Samsung Galaxy Note line of phones weren't just smaller phones stretched out larger. They leverage that size for functionality with the stylus.
Reviewers did note, however, that the Note 7 came with a hefty price tag. Little did the designers realize that it would carry a nasty price tag for Samsung as well.
Unfortunately for Samsung, the Note 7 hit a huge snag shortly after its launch.
Reports started to trickle in of the phone's battery exploding and Samsung's moment of triumph literally went up in a puff of smoke...
Less than two weeks after its launch, people started posting pictures online of their Note 7s charred and in pieces.
No reports of any injuries or burned-down houses accompanied the images. But just imagine having that thing in your pocket!
The problem seems to have started when people were charging their phones.
It's believed that the owners of the phones had used third-party charging cords rather than the ones Samsung provided. Other reports suggest that even people using the Samsung chargers have had their fancy new phones melt down.
It's a rude awakening for Samsung as people who have invested upwards of $900 in their phones find themselves burned.
Samsung has acquired one of the damaged phones to examine it and find out what went wrong.
While they investigate, Samsung has taken steps to prevent faulty batteries from getting into anybody else's hands, at great cost.
Shipments of the new phone had to be held back so Samsung could test them and make sure they're safe.
They've also prepared a recall of about 400,000 Galaxy Note 7s in South Korea and the U.S. to replace the batteries.
And the cost of this fiasco is only beginning to show up...
When news of the delays and explosions hit the markets, Samsung's market value plummeted $7 billion.
It's a massive blow to Samsung, especially with Apple's iPhone 7 scheduled to be revealed next week.
"This is some major buzz-kill for Samsung, especially given all of the hard-earned excitement that products like the Note 7 have been garnering lately," market analyst Bryan Ma told NBC News.
"The timing of this couldn't have been worse."
As Samsung ramps up its damage control, owners of the phone are asked to use avoid those knock-off charging cords and keep it away from heat.
And here's hoping Samsung can fix the problem before anybody gets hurt!
This is not the first time cell phone makers have had issues with their batteries exploding. Even Apple had a similar problem with an iPhone 6 Plus, although the unit that did explode in a man's pocket had been refurbished. And this isn't the first time for Samsung, either, with the Galaxy S6 Edge catching fire with the official charger. So this is their second strike. Will they get a third? SHARE this important news with anybody who owns a Samsung phone!
