In a couple of hours, a very contrite Samsung will explain exactly what went wrong with the Galaxy Note7. “Following several months of comprehensive investigations”, it says, company bosses are going to talk through the design flaws that caused dozens of battery fires and an unprecedented worldwide recall, as well as what it’s going to do in the future to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
Here’s where you can watch along.
Here’s the livestream of Samsung’s Note7 recall press conference:
The press conference livestream will kick off at 12PM AEDT (Sydney time). We’ll be liveblogging along with the stream, so if you can’t watch along, check back here closer to midday and we’ll keep you up to date.
Read along with our live blog right here.
If you’re looking for the YouTube link, here you go. Here’s a backup stream that Samsung is also running.
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Until then, here’s a timeline of the recall as it played out over the last few months.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note7 Recall: The Timeline
The Samsung Galaxy Note7 was unveiled to the world at an event in New York City on August 3. It went on sale to customers in Australia on August 19.
Sales of the phone were suspended due to battery issues causing devices to overheat and catch fire on September 2, first reported by Gizmodo Australia. That was escalated to a full recall a few days later on September 5.
Samsung offered customers the choice of a replacement phone (with a temporary loaner handset in the interim), a refund or exchange to a similar Samsung phone like the S7 Edge, as well as around $250 in incentives which varied depending on the telco or retail store the Note7 was purchased through.
Stock of replacement Galaxy Note7s — with the battery issue apparently fixed — arrived in Australia on September 20. Customers who had returned their phone for an exchange were contacted and told they would receive trouble-free units.
That stock was distributed to Samsung’s customers and carrier partners, until ongoing battery issues and fires with replacement phones forced a second halt of sales and replacements.
Samsung Australia repeatedly told customers to switch off both original and replacement Galaxy Note7 phones, and to return them to their place of purchase. he company limited the state of charge of phone batteries to 60 per cent, disabled Gear VR support, and cut it off from Australian mobile networks.
Currently, over 95 per cent of Samsung Galaxy Note7s have been returned to Samsung in Australia. Approximately 2500 phones are still at large. This recall rate is far ahead of the average Australian recall return rate, which is around 56 per cent according to a 2013 statement by longtime ACCC chairman Rod Sims.
Samsung’s 23 January press conference is likely to be the last official conference on the matter, but the issues with the Note7 will continue to affect Samsung’s public perception for some time. The impact of the Note7 recall is expected to cost Samsung at least $3.4 billion in the Q4 2016 and Q1 2017 quarters.
Following several months of comprehensive investigations, Samsung executives will announce the cause of the Galaxy Note7 incidents and quality enhancement plan during a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, on January 23, 2017 at 10am(KST).
Samsung Electronics, as well as independent expert organizations who conducted their own investigations into various aspects of the Galaxy Note7 incidents, will share their findings. In addition, Samsung will discuss the new measures the company has implemented in response to the incidents.
The full press conference will be available via live-stream globally, and can be accessed through www.samsung.com/galaxy and Samsung Newsroom.