Samsung's Latest Note 7 Battery Fix Violates Android Compatibility Docs (arstechnica.com)

Over the past few days, we have extensively talked about the Galaxy Note 7 -- and its faulty battery. Amid announcements of a global recall, Samsung noted that it is rolling out a firmware update to let users know if their device is affected by the faulty battery. If the battery icon on the device turns green, it means the device is safe to use. The problem is that according to Google's Android Compatibility Definition Document, a set of guidelines that Google imposes on every OEM that opts for Google Mobile Services-enabled Android aren't supposed to tinker with things like battery icon. ArsTechnica reports:In the CDD, Google also defines some of the interface design -- usually the parts apps need to interact with, like the System UI and shared theme assets. This includes mandating the color of the status bar icons, which seems to throw a wrench in Samsung's publicized plans. The section titled "3.8.6. Themes" reads: "Android device implementations MUST use white for system status icons (such as signal strength and battery level) and notifications issued by the system, unless the icon is indicating a problematic status or an app requests a light status bar using the SYSTEM_UI_FLAG_LIGHT_STATUS_BAR flag." Google spells it out pretty clearly: status bar icons have to be white. They aren't allowed to be green, which is the color Samsung plans to use in a future update.

Comments

And the cow goes

[Anonymous Coward]

BOOM!

And

[Anonymous Coward]

So what?

Re:And

[msauve]

Hell, it's a bigger deal that Samsung consistently violates the GPL by shipping phones and not releasing kernel source for months.

No, it's fine

[Anonymous Coward]

unless the icon is indicating a problematic status

Right. The icon *is* indicating a problematic status: The device is using a battery which might explode.

Re:No, it's fine

[__aaclcg7560]

The device is using a battery which might explode.

That describes every electronic device made today. Except some explode more often than others.

Re:No, it's fine

[Anonymous Coward]

I think the problem lies with it showing that the device is not a problem. if it showed a red danger icon on the problem ones but didn't change the status on the safe ones it wouldn't be an issue..

tho given the situation I hope google wont penalize them for violating the agreement since the motivation was user safety

Re: No, it's fine

[Anonymous Coward]

If your phone is not problematic, the battery icon needs to be white instead of green.

I am not sure why they cannot choose blue to indicate a battery issue.

Re: No, it's fine

[Anonymous Coward]

But then how do you know if the battery checker app is working correctly? Really, Samsung should have a firmware update that shows the battery RED if there is a problem, plus a separate app that just tells you if the battery is defective model (or not). That separate app only needs to run once.

Re:No, it's fine

[Anonymous Coward]

It happens sometimes. Phones just explode. Natural causes.

Re:No, it's fine

[DarkOx]

No its not indicating a problem status.

Its green if the device is safe. Effectively and everything is ok alarm.

Why they would not make the update show the battery icon as red or have a ! accross it or something if the device has one of the faulty batteries escapes me. That would both comply with Googles license and probably make people with the faulty batteries take more notice.

Re:No, it's fine

[meerling]

Flaws in the battery from manufacturing, often a contaminant is the cause according the papers on it I've read.
There's a lot of scientific papers on lithium batteries and their risks & flaws if you look for it. You don't have to rely on clickbait sensationalist 'journalism' written by someone that doesn't know the difference between an alloy case and a violation of the conservation of momentum and is likely to call both of them an airborn computer virus. (The standards for journalism have fallen so low that demons in the ninth layer of hell drop care packages for them down the well.)

Re:No, it's fine

[OrangeTide]

coffee cups explode sometimes too.

Re: No, it's fine

[omnichad]

A living canary tells you nothing about the safety of the world around you.

Re:No, it's fine

[Anonymous Coward]

Correction: green means the battery is READY to explode

Re:No, it's fine

[Anonymous Coward]

Your mom explodes. She had to sound proof the floor so you don't hear her orgasms in your basement hideaway.

Re: No, it's fine

[Anonymous Coward]

They probably don't have a way to force an upgrade.

Re:No, it's fine

[BronsCon]

That's great if they can somehow guarantee that every Note 7 gets the update. Talk to the carriers about that one.

In case of a fault like this, the situation is "default unsafe". That is, the color the battery icon was before the fault, which existed before it was found, was discovered is the best indicator that there is a problem with the device; any device which does not change the color of its battery icon can be assumed to have a problem. That problem may be that it contains the faulty battery, that it did not receive the firmware update, or both. In either of the latter conditions, the update can be manually installed and the battery icon observed in order to check for the first condition.

Simply having the update change the icon color for phones containing the faulty battery does not cover that third condition and leaves a large number of users vulnerable to potentially exploding phones, which leaves Samsung liable.

They're probably betting they can settle with Google for less than the cost of settling (or being sued by) with burn victims. I'd make the same bet if I were them.

Re:No, it's fine

[Anonymous Coward]

It is in cases like this I want a strong government organization to step in and say "OK, since Google have opinions on the matter and doesn't want Samsung to solve it their way it is now up to Google to do the update they way they want it done."
Denying someone to solve a problem should not be without a cost.

Re: No, it's fine

[Anonymous Coward]

Blue would be a problem because the status bar changes colour depending on the app in use (unless where the app is white or light grey where the bar is black). If you used the Facebook app the icons can't be seen as it sets the status bar to blue. The reason why you can't change it is just a usability issue which Samsung can be a little sloppy with.

Re: No, it's fine

[dgatwood]

But then how do you know if the battery checker app is working correctly? Really, Samsung should have a firmware update that shows the battery RED if there is a problem, plus a separate app that just tells you if the battery is defective model (or not).

For added entertainment value, they could make it red if there's a problem, green if it works correctly. Then, hope that none of their customers have red-green colorblindness. :-)

But seriously, an app does seem like the right solution, but I could see the airlines wanting something they can glance at as a safety check, and most users would delete the app after they determine that their device doesn't need repair, so I guess a colored icon makes sense, too.

Re: No, it's fine

[Anonymous Coward]

Or leave the battery icon alone and add a new bomb icon which is white for faulty devices and grey and struck out for safe devices.

Re: No, it's fine

[jrumney]

Probably they can't detect that there is a problem. They can only detect that there was not a problem on the current charging cycle when the battery reaches 100% capacity without exploding.

Re: No, it's fine

[BronsCon]

It would have to be white for safe devices, didn't you read the summary?

Re:No, it's fine

[Dahamma]

Penalize them, how?

They let Samsung get over 20% of the global Android market share, "penalizing" the in any way now would be shooting themselves in the foot.

Re: No, it's fine

[HannethCom]

Except Google has come out and said that they worked with Samsung on this. It is actually green, with a white outline and an exception has been made for this one special case.

Re: No, it's fine

[AK Marc]

Have the update shut down charging above 10% and shut down all functions and features other than 911 and display a warning every 30 seconds, if found to be defective.

They are treating the hazardous devices as if they are 1/1,000,000 chance of a problem. If that's the case then the differentiator they are using to separate the good from the bad isn't very useful.

Re:No, it's fine

[Anonymous Coward]

And yours blows.

Re:No, it's fine

[Anonymous Coward]

The device is using a battery which might explode.

That describes every electronic device made today. Except some explode more often than others.

Most devices won't explode from charge-discharge cycles only. You can charge a battery and then short it - or put some staples through it. That will get you some nice fires and maybe an explosion. Nor really normal use. The samsung phone may explode from normal use only - unpleasant if it happens in your pocket.

Re: No, it's fine

[macs4all]

But then how do you know if the battery checker app is working correctly? Really, Samsung should have a firmware update that shows the battery RED if there is a problem, plus a separate app that just tells you if the battery is defective model (or not). That separate app only needs to run once.

Why doesn't the damn App just raise an Alert or Notification or whatever Android calls a pop-up message; or even just a stupid page with a big green Checkmark or Big Red "X"?

WTF is all the damn drama about? Just NOTIFY the Luser, FFS! If Google says it is a violation of its OEM agreement to dick with the Battery Indicator color, then just pick one of the other dozen or so methods to impart information.

Re:No, it's fine

[macs4all]

That's great if they can somehow guarantee that every Note 7 gets the update. Talk to the carriers about that one.

But Samsung has already proven that Android Software Update "difficulty" to be the lie I always suspected it was, by announcing last week that they were going to PUSH an update DIRECTLY to the GN7s in the field to restrict the battery charging to 60%.

Re:No, it's fine

[BronsCon]

Samsung has their own apps, which receive updates separately from the OS, one of which does interact with the power management of the device. I get at least one Samsung app update per week on my S7 Edge, but I've only seen 2 (or has it been 3 now?) OS updates since the phone came out.

Updates were a bit more frequent on my Nexus 6 only because I downloaded them directly from Google and applied them manually.

Re:No, it's fine

[__aaclcg7560]

The samsung phone may explode from normal use only - unpleasant if it happens in your pocket.

It's a bigger issue on airplanes. A spare battery on an airplane caught fire recently.

https://consumerist.com/2016/09/16/spare-electronics-battery-catches-fire-aboard-delta-air-lines-flight/

Re:No, it's fine

[macs4all]

Samsung has their own apps, which receive updates separately from the OS, one of which does interact with the power management of the device. I get at least one Samsung app update per week on my S7 Edge, but I've only seen 2 (or has it been 3 now?) OS updates since the phone came out.

Updates were a bit more frequent on my Nexus 6 only because I downloaded them directly from Google and applied them manually.

Ok, well I guess that does make sense; since they were contemplating changing an OS UI Widget, rather than just running an App that pushed a Notification or something (like they shoulda done). But I guess Google already gave them a "pass" on this, anyway.

Re: No, it's fine

[Coren22]

They implemented that as well, the phones indicate a problem with the battery on reboot and charging if it has the bad batteries. It is more than a red X or green check though, it actually explains the issue.

Re:No, it's fine

[Coren22]

You mean like this warning?

http://www.express.co.uk/life-...

Product Safety

[coastwalker]

Android usage terms and conditions probably need updating to allow changes which are necessary to ensure product safety. It has been shown that Note 7 devices with a white power icon may be unsafe whilst replacements with the green icon are safe to use. The ball is in Googles court.

Re:Product Safety

[bluefoxlucid]

Not really. Google will probably go, "Welp, we're not telling you not to prevent people from blowing up their pants."

Re:Product Safety

[mrchaotica]

Android usage terms and conditions probably need updating to allow changes which are necessary to ensure product safety.

Changing the system tray icon color might be the best way to indicate safety to the user, but it's hardly the only way to do it. Therefore, you can't really claim the changes are "necessary," which means Google doesn't "need" to do anything.

Re:Product Safety

[mwvdlee]

Isn't this what notifications are for?

Re:Product Safety

[Anonymous Coward]

Android usage terms and conditions probably need updating to allow changes which are necessary to ensure product safety. It has been shown that Note 7 devices with a white power icon may be unsafe whilst replacements with the green icon are safe to use. The ball is in Googles court.

So *that's* why we've got that awful all-white notification-icon thing in newer versions of Android. This element of the user interface is, in my view, another one of the manifestations of their going downhill since Jellybean. The color of the icons--not just the shape--conveys a lot about the subsystem it represents. I still suspect that this guideline is in fact just a justification for some hipster to say that notification icons should all just be bland white.

I sure hope that Samsung stands its ground.

Captcha: impact

Re:Product Safety

[Anonymous Coward]

Google have already waived this through. Non story.

Some problem

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh boy, and I thought this world has important problems to solve

Re:Some problem

[hawguy]

Oh boy, and I thought this world has important problems to solve

When why are you wasting time complaining on Slashdot instead of going out to solve those problems?

Re:Some problem

[Anonymous Coward]

It does, but sometimes we read and talk about other more trivial matters. Is every waking moment of your life dedicated to the resolution of the worlds problems? or do you spend time doing things simply because they're interesting to you.

Re:Some problem

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm here to solve them by calling you an idiot.

Re:Some problem

[Finallyjoined!!!]

Good job there, Bud. You've found your niche. Top work, you should be happy.

Re: Some problem

[Anonymous Coward]

Your mother will be proud, I'll mention it behind the bushes later.

I'm so glad

[Anonymous Coward]

That Android is an open operating system that's freely available for anyone to us.

Re:I'm so glad

[omnichad]

It's open the same way that Chrome is. If you fork it, you can't call it Chrome and you can't use Google's trademarks all over it.

Re:I'm so glad

[Alumoi]

As long as you don't bundle Googe crapware with it. Then you must comply with their rules.
Why do you think Cyanogenmod comes without Google crapware?

Re:I'm so glad

[Ash-Fox]

Why do you think Cyanogenmod comes without Google crapware?

That's weird, this 1+1 (created by the same organization) that comes with Cyanogenmod has Google apps preloaded on to it.

Re:I'm so glad

[Alumoi]

Cyanogenmod is not Cyanogen OS.
The OS comes with gapps but you have to install gapps yourself on Cyanogenmod.

Re:I'm so glad

[petermgreen]

The real kicker with andriod is the google apps. Maps, Play store, Gmail, Hangouts, Chrome etc. If a phone/table vendor wants those then they have to submit to google's UI rules.

Some vendors have tried to replace the google apps with others (for example the "fire" series from Amazon) but afaict said vendors have seen pretty limited success.

Wrong way to go about it

[Qzukk]

Seriously, if they're going to push out an alert, it needs to go to the people with explodey batteries, and leave people with OK batteries out of it. A nice big popup reading "This device has been recalled due to exploding. Please return it to the store you purchased it from" that cycles through a few dozen languages and cannot be dismissed except to use the phone.

Re:Wrong way to go about it

[bluefoxlucid]

How do you know if you have a safe phone or just haven't gotten the notification?

Re: Wrong way to go about it

[Anonymous Coward]

By showing a "you are ok" on the first boot on the new firmware?

Re: Wrong way to go about it

[mr_mischief]

I don't think the TSA is okay with just asking "did your last reboot say your phone won't explode?"

Re:Wrong way to go about it

[Qzukk]

How do you know if you have an unsafe phone if you don't read slashdot and don't know your battery indicator is supposed to turn green if you're OK?

Re:Wrong way to go about it

[anarcobra]

This.
I think a popup is the way to go.
If you need some indicator to show other people, put it in the settings menu.
A tiny thing like the battery changing green could mean that the battery is fully charged or something.
Red could be interpreted as it needs charging.
This is probably why google doesn't want companies messing with the battery indicator.

Re:Wrong way to go about it

[bluefoxlucid]

At that point it doesn't much matter. Indicator turned green for unknown reason.

What if you know the phone might be bad, and the indicator doesn't indicate that it's validated it's a safe phone? Is it safe? Did the roll-out miss you? You need some kind of visual confirmation that the test has been done and came back clean, or else you're still in an unknown and unsafe state.

So, they should flip it

[Anonymous Coward]

It says it must be white:

            unless the icon is indicating a problematic status

so Samsung could change it from OK=>green to !OK=>red and they should be good to go, right?

Re:So, they should flip it

[Anonymous Coward]

As others have stated in this discussion, in that situation white would mean either "ok" or "explodey but not running the latest firmware".

OOooOOOooh! They got CAUGHT!

[mpoulton]

THOSE DIRTY BASTARDS!!! They had the temerity to violate a minor rule in an unenforceable voluntary standard to fix an actual operator safety issue! What gall.

Really though, nobody should care one bit about this. The violation is that the icon is green under normal conditions. Turning red when unsafe is standards-compliant, but the green normal state isn't. The problem is that a white normal state provides no confirmation to the user that the battery status has been checked at all. Turning green confirms that the check has been performed and the result was acceptable. Could they have used some other method of indicating this? Sure, but it would have been more intrusive and less clear to the user. This is simple and elegant, and addresses a problem that the standards writers certainly never anticipated. It's a great solution, really. Why would anyone object?

Re:OOooOOOooh! They got CAUGHT!

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a great solution, really. Why would anyone object?

Because this is Ars Technica we're talking about. Mental flexibility isn't one of their strengths.

Re:OOooOOOooh! They got CAUGHT!

[Balial]

Changing the icon is a great solution to what, exactly?

It doesn't prevent customer phones from blowing up. It might imply that any phone that doesn't have the special colored icon is liable to explode, something I'm sure competitors would rather not have happen.

Re:OOooOOOooh! They got CAUGHT!

[Anonymous Coward]

This is simple and elegant, and addresses a problem that the standards writers certainly never anticipated.

It does not address anything. For the clueless and uninformed it could be either white or green, they will not know that it means their battery is ok, they are not even aware that there may be a problem anyway
Those that are aware can simply be informed after the update that their battery has been checked and is ok. If you want a permanent notification for those delicate souls that need daily reaffirmation that their battery really, really is ok, put a notice of such kind in the battery status window or something.
Either way, no need to go against the standard, completely unnecessary, itd does not add anything.

Re:OOooOOOooh! They got CAUGHT!

[Anonymous Coward]

Why would anyone object?

The red-green blind would object.. :)

Re:OOooOOOooh! They got CAUGHT!

[jezwel]

It may help if you want to charge your device on an airplane - this is an obvious indicator that the battery has been checked and is ok to be charged.
If you use a red icon for a dangerous battery, a standard white icon then indicates that the battery has been checked and is fine, OR that that firmware has not been updated,and the battery has not been checked and may cause a fire.

Re: OOooOOOooh! They got CAUGHT!

[Anonymous Coward]

Its not about preventing the phone from exploding. Its about indicating that the phone has the corrected battery. In fact, after the firmware goes out a Note 7 with a white battery icon will be the worst type of phone. A white icon will actually indicate a Note7 with a potentially flawed battery and no software implemented to mitigate the risk of the battery failing catastrophically.

so then use the speaker

[BringsApples]

Why use the battery icon anyway? Seems to me that I'm less likely to be looking at that icon when the phone is in my pocket, which just so happens to be the time that really want it to not explode. If there were a loud siren when it started getting to hot, or whatever signals the icon reacts to, that'd be much better. Or maybe just turn the thing off? But an ICON???

Re:so then use the speaker

[hawguy]

Why use the battery icon anyway? Seems to me that I'm less likely to be looking at that icon when the phone is in my pocket, which just so happens to be the time that really want it to not explode. If there were a loud siren when it started getting to hot, or whatever signals the icon reacts to, that'd be much better. Or maybe just turn the thing off? But an ICON???

It's not meant to be a warning that the battery is actively failing, it's to indicate whether or not your device has the faulty battery so you know if you need to get it replaced -- or keep it out of your pocket.

Why would Samsung care?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why would Samsung care? They have never used Google's interface for any of their phones. Who cares if they violet Google's UI color rules when they reskin everything anyway.

oh my god who the hell cares

[Anonymous Coward]

i got cancer reading this. people are dying in other countries.

Priorities?

[jetkust]

So changing the color of the icon violates the policy but blowing up the phone doesn't?

Re:Priorities?

[Anonymous Coward]

The color of smoke emitted by the exploding phones meets the specs, so it's okay.

Re:Priorities?

[jellomizer]

Lawyers can't think of everything.
That will be covered in the next version.

Re:Priorities?

[ImprovOmega]

I wish I still had mod points. Most insightful comment in the thread. Actually if we just edit the summary to include your comment at the end, then no one else would need to comment at all. Props.

Re:Priorities?

[Anonymous Coward]

"That's a hardware problem." -PCP

Better option would be to turn it RED....

[mark-t]

... if it is does not pass. Then the fact that they changed its color is indicative of a real problem, and thus not breaking the standard.

Re:Better option would be to turn it RED....

[ArtemaOne]

No. You're not thinking here. The turning red would be great, so just go back in time and make it work that way. There's no way to get that update on all the phones that may explode this late in the game. You need a positive confirmation, not an unachievable negative confirmation.

Re:Better option would be to turn it RED....

[mark-t]

There's no way to get an update on all the phones that won't explode either. An app could be used to provide positive confirmation if that is needed.

Re:Better option would be to turn it RED....

[Qzukk]

And 3 seconds later there'd be 50 more apps just like it. Prank your friends with an alert that the phone is going to explode! Use your phone on an airplane with this app that claims the battery is fine!

Re:Better option would be to turn it RED....

[mark-t]

The app wouldn't change the color of the battery icon... that would be done by the update, if it were to get installed. The app could just provide confirmation that the update was installed and everything is performing as expected as a positive affirmation if that is required. Meanwhile, people who have vulnerable phones that have installed the update have a visible cue that they need to get theirs replaced.

Re: Better option would be to turn it RED....

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually it is really easy to do that. Ship all phones containing the new battery with this software. Done.

Re: Better option would be to turn it RED....

[Anonymous Coward]

I developed an app that does that yesterday. I installed it on my Note7 that now says it has a fixed battery. Anyone want to buy my phone? Its half the price of any other Note7 on the market.

Re: Better option would be to turn it RED....

[mark-t]

I'd imagine it is fairly trivial to tell that your app was not developed by samsung.

Android Compatibility ! Safety

[EmagGeek]

Sorry, maintaining full android "compatibility" on a product you are recalling anyway is not more important than safety.

Re:Android Compatibility ! Safety

[jellomizer]

But Google may want to separate itself from Samsung shame. Being that Samsung has typically been Googles main device having thier flagship OS being part of the exploding phones, Google may be ready to nitpick on details to show that Samsung wasn't using the Real Android but an unsupported hack.

There was an issue a while back with iPhones exploding because of 3rd party chargers, being that these were unapproved chargers Apple was able to distance itself from the problems.

Re:Android Compatibility ! Safety

[SeaFox]

Why don't they just lock the phone up for all but emergency calling instead of playing with the battery icon color?

OMG World is nearly ended!

[Anonymous Coward]

Why is this a story? Exploding batteries violate "Android compatibility docs" too. On the positive side, if the Note 7 isn't "officially" Android, maybe idjits will stop crippling it by putting stock ROMS on it. TouchWiz is Samsung. Get over it.

oy vey shut it down

[Anonymous Coward]

i only care if white people are dying in other countries

Re:oy vey shut it down

[Anonymous Coward]

I only care if white people I know personally are dying. Even then it's debatable.

is anyone color blind?

[OrangeTide]

Would you be able to tell if the icon is green instead of white?

I'm not color blind, but depending on the saturation of the green and the viewing conditions I don't think I'd be able to reliably determine the color of a small green icon versus a small white icon.

Re:is anyone color blind?

[omnichad]

Are you sure you're not partially color blind? Green looks very little like white. And they're trying to be noticed (to prove you've received the "safe or not" update), so I doubt they're going for subtle.

Re:is anyone color blind?

[OrangeTide]

Yes, I'm certain, I've been tested.

I also work with displays for mobile devices professionally and operate them under more extreme scenarios that most end users.

Re:is anyone color blind?

[Anonymous Coward]

"I also work with displays for mobile devices professionally"

Staring at the speedometer while you're driving for Uber doesn't really count.

Re:is anyone color blind?

[Anonymous Coward]

> Yes, I'm certain, I've been tested.
Truly confidence inspiring words.

Re:is anyone color blind?

[OrangeTide]

Truly confidence inspiring words.

I'm happy that I was able to placate your concerns.

Point is to prove safe devices...

[Anonymous Coward]

The point is for people with safe devices to be able to display that the device is safe. If it only showed red for faulty battery, no one with a white indicator could prove that their device was safe, but if the battery indicator is green, then it has downloaded the update, and the battery has been verified as not in one of the problematic lots.

Re:Point is to prove safe devices...

[Anonymous Coward]

So put an explicit "battery is safe" message in the options dialogs, and comply with the UI guidelines by changing the battery icon to red if there's a problem.

Changing the battery icon to green to indicate it's safe trains the user to not trust the standard white icon.

Re:Point is to prove safe devices...

[Anonymous Coward]

In this situation you can't trust the standard white icon.

Because at a glance if you see the white icon you can't be sure if the phone is safe or simply has not been updated. Which is problematic for any authority that might want to be assured that your phone isn't going to potentially burst into flames at a critical time/location. Like a capitol building, courthouse, airplane or anywhere else where they routinely run people through security before they enter.

Everyone gets notifications, don't they?

[Streetlight]

Set a permanent notification on phones that says the phone has the newer, safer battery. I have a couple of notifications that are always there when I swipe down to view them. If someone needs to prove they have an the new battery they can show the notification. Then when there's an update to a newer OS version is installed the notification can be removed, or not. Oh, wait, when will Samsung update the OS?

A flaming phone icon would be better.

[fwc]

So, they can't change the icon color. So, instead, they should just include a flaming phone icon. That should convey it perfectly.

Re:A flaming phone icon would be better.

[Anonymous Coward]

Notification: Somebody set us up the bomb.

Re:A flaming phone icon would be better.

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, a flaming 'Google' would be far more entertaining.

Re:A flaming phone icon would be better.

[Howitzer86]

Honestly it should just shutoff. The thing is a fire hazard, and if the system knows this and persists in operating without user intervention I can imagine a lawsuit painting Samsung liable for damages. We don't know how long an interval would be between a bad battery icon and an exploding battery. It could be days, hours, minutes...

We need to cut Samsung some slack here

[93 Escort Wagon]

The problem is that according to Google's Android Compatibility Definition Document, a set of guidelines that Google imposes on every OEM that opts for Google Mobile Services-enabled Android aren't supposed to tinker with things like battery icon.

I agree that, under normal circumstances, Samsung should get dinged for something like this. But the problem is Samsung's copy of this document got destroyed in a fire.

Hey I thought all S7 phones were recalled?

[BoRegardless]

Consumer Product Safety Commission did a mandatory recall, right?

Re:Hey I thought all S7 phones were recalled?

[mr_mischief]

A mandatory recall means the seller must ask the buyer to return them. It's still up to the buyer to do so. It's not mandatory in the sense that jackbooted thugs come to your house, take your phone, and hand you a check from Samsung in the middle of the night.

Re:Hey I thought all S7 phones were recalled?

[Anonymous Coward]

So Read it.

The Issue may not affect all phones

Re:Hey I thought all S7 phones were recalled?

[samwichse]

Just to further clarify:

For consumer products, recall participation by consumers is often as low as 10%, for cars the numbers are 15-70%, depending how much publicity the issue has received.

For instance, for the GM ignition switch recall that was all over the news for a LONG time, GM has been touting a 70% participation rate. That means 30% of the cars which could lock your steering wheel at speed and kill you are still on the road in that state in spite of a free fix from the manufacturer.

I bet Samsung's rate for this phone is 40-50%.

Pointless story

[Anonymous Coward]

This story is in the weeds of minutia and should be removed from Slashdot.

status bar icons have to be white, not green?

[fustakrakich]

I guess blue is okay because that's the color the signal strength icons (wifi and cell) on my official Galaxy Nexus turn to with an internet connection, which just happens to be very convenient.

Inside info

[Anonymous Coward]

It won't be on the status bar. The power off screen and Always on Display will feature the green battery.

Poor Samsung.

[grub]

"Beleaguered" used to be a word I reserved for Blackberry/RIM.
Now I can use it for Samsung.

The Problem

[Greyfox]

Problem: Phone catches on fire and explodes.

Solution: Added new "Battery on fire" battery icon status.

Problem solved!