The Continuing Woes for Samsung

Only a week after stating they had isolated the issue with the overheating Samsung Galaxy Note 7, reports are coming in that the replacement models have the same issue as well. This comes almost a month after Samsung made the executive decision to pull back and recall over 2.5 million phones. That isn’t a typo. That is almost unheard of when it comes to a behemoth like Samsung that has over $350 billion in revenue. The devices which were said to get incredibly hot and then explode was first reported towards the end of August, leading to more than three dozen complaints over four continents. This is also damning as Samsung holds more than 35% of the mobile telephone market. There are also new findings that Samsung’s top loading washing machines are exploding as well. This is all in the span of 5 weeks which began with the launch of the much heralded Note 7.

The Note 7 was seen as another phone to take on the iPhone monster that Apple seems to have a good handle on (the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are pacing to be the best selling smart phone in the world). After the Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, and S6 Edge + were panned, Samsung came back with a much better device in the S7 and S7 Edge. With sales failing to beat previous models (Galaxy S4) and a growing competitive market, this Note 7 gaffe was a pronounced step backwards. Samsung sent replacement devices in the third week of September hoping to stop the bleeding while also attempting to compete with the sold out from launch day iPhone series. This is unparalleled as Samsung is generally seen as one of the industry’s leading provider for not just cellular devices but also electronics in general, from refrigerators to televisions.

As we are now in the fourth quarter of an already busy year, Samsung has a lot of catching up to do. There has to be a new approach to competition that will not come at the expense of consumers or quality. The average buyer has become much more savvy over the past three years, not necessarily staying loyal to specific brands. Functionality is a key part of making purchases, technology driven or not. This is especially true with a device that is on your person 24/7 (don’t lie to yourself) – your cellphone. With their VR line not seeing as much traction as they initially hoped and their phones not making enough headway until the iPhone release overshadowed it, Samsung has a lot of ground to cover to stay true to who they are. As a dual user of the iPhone and Samsung I can say one thing, the iPhone might make my life easier but the Samsung makes my life better. As they continue to solve the problems that ache them I am one of the millions who will go back to a Note 7 once all the kinks are worked out. Technology is a man made derivative that will fail from time to time, and to hold that against it is purely hypocritical.