Why The Galaxy Note 7 Failed

Summary

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was initially hailed as the greatest smartphone, but quickly became infamous for its explosive failures. The video explores how Samsung's push for an ultra-thin design led to catastrophic battery issues, resulting in a global recall and the eventual discontinuation of the Note series. It delves into the company's response, the technical reasons behind the explosions, and the lasting impact on Samsung's reputation.

Takeaways

• 📱 The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was initially hailed as the greatest smartphone ever made but later became known for its explosive failures.
• 🚀 The launch of Apple's first mass-market touchscreen smartphone in 2007 spurred Samsung to create their own premium product, the Galaxy Note 1, in 2011.
• 📈 Samsung aimed to differentiate themselves from being seen as Apple copycats by introducing the Galaxy Note Edge with a curved screen in 2014.
• 🔥 The Note 7 was designed to be Samsung's thinnest and most feature-rich phone yet, but these ambitions led to critical design flaws.
• 🔊 The first reported Note 7 fires were attributed to manufacturing errors, with Samsung recalling all American phones and issuing replacements.
• 💥 Even the replacement Note 7 phones were not safe and continued to explode, revealing a deeper issue with the battery design.
• 🛑 Samsung eventually halted production and sales of the Note 7, banning it from flights due to the risk it posed.
• 🔍 Technical analysis revealed that the Note 7's battery design was flawed, with the battery edges being rounded to fit in a tight space, causing short circuits.
• 🔄 Samsung's response to the crisis was criticized for being slow and inadequate, with some replacement phones using batteries manufactured before the recall was announced.
• 📉 The Note 7 incident significantly damaged Samsung's brand reputation, especially for the Note series, which was discontinued in 2020.
• 🔄 After the crisis, Samsung repurposed some of the unsold and returned Note 7s by installing smaller batteries and rebranding them as the Samsung Note Fe to mitigate further explosions.

Q & A

What was the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 initially known for at the time of its release?

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was initially known as the greatest smartphone that had ever been made.

How did the Samsung Galaxy Note 7's reputation change over time?

Over time, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7's reputation changed from being the greatest smartphone to being known as the greatest failure in smartphone history due to its tendency to explode.

What was the original strategy of Samsung in the smartphone market before the Galaxy Note series?

Samsung's original strategy was to create cheaper phones using open-source Android software, similar to Apple's products but with cheaper materials.

What innovation did the Samsung Galaxy Note 1 introduce in 2011?

The Samsung Galaxy Note 1 introduced a larger screen and a stylus called the S Pen, which was a significant innovation at the time.

What feature did the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge bring to the smartphone market in 2014?

The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge introduced a curved screen, a feature that has since become common among Android phones.

Why did Samsung decide to make the Galaxy Note 7 their thinnest phone ever?

Samsung decided to make the Galaxy Note 7 their thinnest phone ever to compete with the trend of bigger screens and thinner phones in the market, following Apple's footsteps.

What were some of the advanced features of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7?

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 featured the best display, an S Pen that worked underwater, a USB-C charging port that was ahead of its time, and was their thinnest and more rigid phone ever.

What was the initial response from Samsung when the Note 7 started to have reported fires?

Samsung initially recalled all of the American phones, claiming it was a manufacturing error specific to the U.S. market, and sent out replacement phones with a green light indicator to signify they were safe.

Why did the replacement Note 7 phones also start exploding?

The replacement Note 7 phones started exploding because Samsung used batteries that were manufactured before the initial phones started exploding and before the company had fully researched the problem.

What was the final outcome for the Samsung Galaxy Note 7?

The Note 7 was eventually banned on all American flights, Samsung halted production, and they offered full refunds to customers. Later, they re-released a version with a smaller battery as the Samsung Note FE.

What were the two main reasons identified for the Note 7 explosions?

The two main reasons for the Note 7 explosions were a battery design where the edges were rounded to fit more components, causing short circuits, and a manufacturing defect referred to as 'burrs' that could puncture the battery as it expanded.