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Samsung Note 7 Investigation Will Blame 'Irregularly Sized' Batteries and Manufacturing Flaws, Says WSJ (theverge.com)

Samsung's official investigation into the cause of widespread faults with the Galaxy Note 7 will blame "irregularly sized" batteries and manufacturing faults, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The company is set to announce the results of its inquiry this weekend, but the WSJ claims to have revealed its conclusions early, citing information from "people familiar with the matter." From the report: The WSJ says Samsung hired three independent "quality-control and supply-chain analysis firms" to conduct its investigation, with these firms concluding that two separate faults affected the Note 7. The first fault relates to devices that used batteries made by Samsung subsidiary Samsung SDI. These batteries didn't fit inside the phone properly, which led to overheating and, in some cases, explosions. When reports of the Note 7 fault first emerged last August, executives initially believed the problem was confined to these particular devices. In response, they increased production of the Note 7 using batteries made by Hong Kong-based firm Amperex Technology. According to the official investigation, this rush to ensure there was an adequate supply of Note 7 devices for the market led to the second fault -- with the increased pressure on production creating unknown "manufacturing issues."

4 of 87 comments (clear)

  1. Agrument in favor of modularity by TWX · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Well this is definitely an argument in favor of having some modular components inside of compact electronics like phones. It's understandable that the old PC model with sockets for the electronic parts like memory and microprocessors is not practical in miniaturized devices this small, but it definitely makes sense for devices like batteries, which are not nearly so integrated into the electronics as many other devices, to be removable.

    Had the batteries been removable, Samsung could have recalled these units by correcting battery manufacturing problems and then shipping batteries to the carriers to distribute via store, or directly to consumers in cases where the store might not be an option.

    A couple of coworkers had these phones and basically used them until they were bricked, they loved them so much. A lot of people would have been much less unhappy if a simple battery swap had been an option.

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  2. OK, so by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    the decision to dump the removable battery really was as brain-dead as it looked.

  3. To thin! by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I don't want an super thin phone, why not make it bit bigger to have an better battery / one you can swap!

  4. Re:Out-of-the-box solution: battery in protector. by Jaime2 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So you want someone to invent the Moto Z?