In case you’re not aware, the drama about the Galaxy Note7 is not over. First, Samsung recalled the phone for it’s exploding battery. They replaced all units with “safe” ones. Well, as of today, Samsung officially deemed the “safe” phones as unsafe. These reports come after 5 of the so-called “safe” phones have exploded. Before Samsung even made the formal announcement, major carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon had already stopped selling the phone and exchanging replacements.
Samsung, you’re an IDIOT
When I rant, I rant. I’ll get right to it. Samsung is stupid. I get it, things happen. However, the reason this entire thing started is because Samsung did not perform enough testing internally on the Note7. One problem is bad enough, but then the replacement phones are faulty? That makes me skeptical. Upon thinking about it, Samsung had the “safe” phones ready in just weeks. There’s no way they had enough time to do serious testing. What did they do? Test it a few times and call it a day. Hey, Samsung, how’s that working out for you? It’s not. Might I remind you that Samsung initially said they needed until October 21st to complete their fixed version. People whined and whined, so Samsung magically had a fix within a few days. Strange, huh? How’d that work out? Thanks to their stupidity, they are going to have to work hard to gain the trust of customers from here on out.
Is this all a Media Hype?
Through all of my ranting, one thing has become clear: this is definitely somewhat of a media hype. Yes, the Note7 is unsafe. When you look at it though, only five units have exploded out of thousands. There is a definite safety risk, and I highly recommend that you power down your Note7 and return it to be cautious, but at the end of the day, it is partially a media hype.
What is Samsung to do?
Samsung has been doing a great job by taking extreme safety measures. It is great to see that they’re halting sales a second time to investigate. They’re doing one thing right, but here’s what they need to change from here on out: test your phones more! I think this may have been avoidable if they didn’t rush to get Note7 out before the iPhone 7. We knew it was a rushed launch, because they wanted to beat Apple. That backfired, majorly. Samsung, you’re a big enough company that you don’t need to try and beat Apple. Let the Samsung fans buy Samsung, and let the Apple fans buy Apple. Take your time! Just ask buyers: would they be willing to wait a few more weeks for a new phone if it means it will go through additional safety testing? I’m willing to bet that almost all buyers would say yes. They should test the Galaxy S8 and Note8 like no one’s business. In addition, I think they need to spend time at the announcement and take time to prove to fans that it is safe. They need to carefully gain the trust of their past customers, and not screw it up again.
UPDATE [10/11/16]
I wrote this article yesterday, so some of the information and opinions are outdated. As of this morning, the Korean giant has officially announced the immediate discontinuation of the Note7. Production has been permanently halted, and users are encouraged to turn in their Note7 and get a different phone (Samsung, of course, is pushing the Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge as a replacement). The saga has ended, Samsung cut their losses, and the Note7 will always be remembered.
