When Samsung worked to figure out the cause behind the Note 7 fires, it had 700 engineers working at four new facilities it built in South Korea, Vietnam and China. They tested more than 200,000 phone units and over 30,000 standalone batteries. With more than 70,000 engineers around the world, Samsung has manpower to spare. The same can't be said for others in the industry. The wireless carriers, for instance, receive only a small number of units for testing. The only way they would've caught the Note 7 problem was if they all tested hundreds of thousands of devices, which isn't economically feasible, according to a spokesman from one carrier.
Beyond the carriers, some look to the CTIA, the trade group for the US wireless industry, to set guidelines on testing, "Consumer safety is of the highest importance to CTIA and its members," the group said in a statement, "That's why, under industry-developed test plans, device makers conduct battery certification testing of their devices in labs that meet CTIA requirements."The CTIA also said it continually reviews and adapts its test plans, but didn't offer more specifics, One of the conclusions Samsung came to after its Note gravity series case for apple iphone x and xs - pitch black 7 investigation was that relying on the tests conducted by its battery suppliers wasn't enough -- it needed to have its own checks in place, If nothing else, that may inspire other vendors to have discussions with their own suppliers..
Samsung is lucky that its phones didn't cause a more serious incident. It also still has its share of hardcore fans. Joseph Jugos, for instance, is a Note 7 user who ended up downgrading to a Note 5 while he waits for the next iteration of the phone. The next company to deal with exploding batteries may not be so fortunate, putting consumers in jeopardy of bodily harm -- or worse. "If you're a phone maker, you should be thinking this could happen to me too," Ceder said. "Any other attitude would be really callous, really dangerous."CNET's Alfred Ng contributed to this report.
Updated at 6:49 a.m, PT and on March 27 at 12:06 p.m, PT: To include a response from Samsung and additional comment from LG, Tune in to watch the Galaxy S8 announcement live with CNET on March 29, starting at 7:30 a.m, PT/10:30 a.m, ET, CNET Magazine: Check out a sampling of the stories you'll find in CNET's newsstand edition, Tech Enabled: CNET chronicles tech's gravity series case for apple iphone x and xs - pitch black role in providing new kinds of accessibility, Samsung hoped its new battery safety procedures would inspire the phone industry, Good luck with that..
Months after the Galaxy Note 7 debacle, the topic remains too hot for the rest of the wireless industry to handle. With Samsung's Galaxy S8 to launch next week, a renewed discussion of the Note 7, which had an unhealthy tendency to catch fire and which had to be recalled, is inevitable. Samsung built four facilities and tested 200,000 Note 7 phones and 30,000 standalone batteries to figure out what went wrong. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.
