The Samsung Explosion Cause Is...
Officially, the results of Samsungâs months-long investigation into the Galaxy Note 7 overheating (and exploding) problem are being released next week. But you donât have to wait until next Monday; a Korean outlet has leaked the final report findings and we now know the cause of the Note 7 explosions.
We originally speculated that the issue was caused by third-party chargers, but as more incidents were reported, it became clear that wasnât the case. Most people then assumed the Note 7 batteries were faulty, until Samsung switched battery suppliers and issued replacement Note 7s that started exploding, too. Once it became clear that the supposedly safe models were afflicted with the same issue, Samsung took the extreme step of completely shutting down production of the Note 7 and issuing a total recall for all Note 7s worldwide.
Itâs great that a phone manufacturer is so safety-conscious, but of course it was frustrating for everyone who loved their Note 7 and had used it for months with no problemsâespecially once Samsung sent out a final over-the-air update that would effectively brick the few devices remaining in the wild.
Weâve been waiting since December and today we finally know what it is that sent the Galaxy Note 7 up in smoke.
It turns out, a fatal combination of a hardware and software issue are behind the cases of spontaneous phone combustion.
An official source told Korean outlet Chosun that the Note 7âs design didnât allocate enough space to allow the battery room to expand once it grew warm. There was also a software failsafe designed to detect overheating and shut down power to the phone, but this software didnât work.
Now that Samsung has determined why the Note 7s kept exploding, no doubt theyâll devote plenty of time and resources to fixing it in future models. The heat-check software will most likely be the easier fix, but the design issue is tougher. With the industry pushing toward more features, longer battery life, and thinner phones, something has to give. In the case of the Note 7, which was loaded with a ton of tech-heavy features like the S Pen and an iris scanner, it was the extra space needed for safety that Samsung gave up. Going forward, weâll be watching closely to see what Samsung decides to compromise on, at least until new breakthroughs can extend battery life with the same size or even smaller batteries.
Get the full story on Pocketnow for more details from the report.
The Samsung Explosion Cause Is⊠was originally published on Liquidum Blog
