Bad Batteries Were Likely Behind Samsung’s Exploding Phone Problem

An internal probe has turned up the main reason Samsung’s Galaxy Note phones kept burst into flames.

It seems the battery was the main problem with the incendiary Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, according to sources familiar with the matter. The phone issue evolved into one of the larger product safety misses in recent history.

Samsung is currently doing its best to forget the whole unpleasant and bottom line-biting affair as it gears up for the launch of the Galaxy S8 sometime in the first half of this year. Presumably they are using a different battery.

And though the battery is the beginning of the story, Samsung investors and analysts believe it should not be the end — since the scale of the failure means Samsung needs to the offer the world a rather detailed explanation of what went sideways with the Note 7. Assurances that the Note 8 will not suffer the same fate are also rather eagerly sought.

“They’ve got to make sure they come clean, and they’ve got to reassure buyers as to why this won’t happen again,” said Bryan Ma, Singapore-based analyst for researcher IDC.

The full investigation results are expected to be released on January 23rd — the day before Samsung releases its Q4 earnings report.

Koh Dongjin, head of Samsung’s mobile business, will likely announce the results as well as new measures the firm is taking to prevent similar problems in future devices. So far, Samsung has no official or public comment on the matter.

What is known as of now is that Samsung was forced to recall 2.5 million Note 7 phones in September. At the time, the proffered explanation was manufacturing issues originating with a supplier (Samsung SDI Co Ltd (006400.KS)). But when a new round of Note phones — with a different battery from a different supplier — also started spontaneously combusting, Samsung had to pull the product full stop from the market and soak a 6.1 trillion won ($5.2 billion) blow to their operating profit over the course of three quarters.

“To me, it’d be surprising if they said it was a supplier issue,” IDC’s Ma said, adding he suspects Samsung may not have given enough room for the battery inside the phone.