Back in 2016, I gaveSamsung’sill-fatedGalaxy Note 7 a glowing reviewand called it the “best large-sized phablet smartphone” I had ever used.
It was a monumental leap over the Galaxy Note 5 (there wasn’t a Galaxy Note 6) in terms of its overall design, power, and, at least at the time, water resistance. I’m sure there were likely other IP68 water-resistant handsets, but the Note 7 was the first I encountered, and it was truly game-changing. I have fond memories of covering the 5.7-inch “phablet” – which seems small by today’s smartphone standards – in water droplets at a local beach to snap a few wet-looking photos for my review.
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Overall, the Note 7 was a stellar phone that, looking back, was way ahead of its time. It felt like Android’s answer to the iPhone and combined the best elements of Samsung’s Galaxy S7 with the stylus-equipped Note 5. Sure, using the iris scanner to log into the device was far from a perfect experience, but it felt like something out of Mission Impossible at the time. Even its camera performance was well ahead of other Android devices thanks to its 12-megapixel rear-facing shooter with optical image stabilization.
Unfortunately, the Galaxy Note 7’s life was cut short following widespread, potentially dangerous battery issues. With theGalaxy S25’slaunchlooming on the horizon,now is a great time to look back at one of the biggest blunders in Samsung’s smartphone history.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7
An explosive smartphone
The calamity of missteps surrounding the Galaxy Note 7’s recall was something to behold
I vaguely remember reports surrounding Note 7 issues trickling in very slowly. The phone was officially released in late August 2016, and just a few days later, reports started appearing on Reddit, with users posting images and videos of the smartphone overheating, smoking, and, in some cases, catching fire. Once the tech blogging world started covering the problem, a constant stream of stories about the issue, including an incident involving asix-year-old boy that was burned by the phone, were published. At one point ahead of Samsung’s official recall of the Note 7, several airlines worldwide went so far as to outrightban the Galaxy Note 7 from planes.
On October 11th 2016, Samsung stopped selling the Note 7 worldwide, emphasizing that all owners should power down the device and stop using it.
By September 2nd, Samsung launched a voluntary global recall of the2.5 million Note 7 devicessold so far, and offered to either refund or replace the devices. Then, on September 9th, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission got involved and urged owners to stop using the smartphone entirely. On September 15th, the commission issued a formal recall.
It sounds silly now, but I was reluctant to give my Note 7 review unit back and kept delaying returning my device (I really liked it that much, and I didn’t experience any issues with it – at least not yet). Samsung Canada eventually sent a representative to retrieve the smartphone from me (I still have the phone’s box in my garage somewhere, though – maybe it’ll be a collector’s item someday?)
Unfortunately for Samsung, replacement Note 7 devices still suffered from the same issue, leading to a phone on aSouthwest Airline flightsmoking and the plane being evacuated. This resulted in US carriers no longer issuing Note 7 replacements, which was a big blow to Samsung. Finally, on October 11th, the company officially stopped selling the Note 7 worldwide, emphasizing that all owners should power down the device and stop using it. In some regions, Samsung evendeactivated serviceon Note 7 devices to encourage owners to return the device.
In total, the Note 7 fiasco cost Samsung $5.3 billion over the course of 2017.
I always assumed the Galaxy Note 7 would make a triumphant return at some point, but that never really happened. The closest thing we got was the Galaxy Note FE Fan Edition, which released in 2017 in specific regions, including South Korea. In total, the Note 7 fiasco cost Samsung $5.3 billion throughout 2017.
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What caused the battery issue?
Samsung was initially reluctant to point to the source definitively
Most assumed that the Galaxy Note 7’s woes were somehow tied to a fault in its large 3,500 mAh battery, which was massive by 2016 smartphone standards. Several months after the mandatory recall, Koh Dong-jin, Samsung’s then-mobile division president,placed the blameon its battery supplier (which was likely Samsung SDI), citing the cell’s compact design, thin separators, and overall high energy density. Following the company’s very lengthy investigation into the problem, Samsung determined there wasn’t enough space in the Galaxy Note 7’s battery area to accommodate its electrodes, leading to the overheating issues that plagued the device.
Note 7 features and design cues can still be found in devices like the Galaxy S24 Ultra, including the S Pen.
While the tech giant blamed its battery division, Samsung also admitted that it “provided the target for the battery specifications for the innovative Note 7, and we are taking responsibility for our failure to ultimately identify and verify the issues arising out of battery design and manufacturing.”
Samsung recovered shockingly quickly from the controversy surrounding the Note 7’s battery issues, withGalaxy Note 8 sales reboundingthe next year in 2017. On a personal note, everyone I know who said they’d never purchase a Samsung device again after being frustrated with the Note 7 situation bought the next Galaxy S series device or Note smartphone. Samsung has a lot of hardcore fans who stand by the company, even through something as controversial as this.
The Galaxy Note line received several more releases, culminating in 2021’sGalaxy Note 20, the final device in the stylus-focused line. However, Note features can still be found in devices like the Galaxy S24 Ultra, including the now iconic S Pen.
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