Samsung has today announced that new Galaxy Note 7 sales will recommence from October 28, after battery safety problems scuppered the original launch date of September 2. The company says the new date is "subject to a full completion of the exchange program" — so all (or at least the overwhelming majority) of old, potentially dangerous Notes need to be returned before new sales can begin.
In a press release, Samsung also revealed that in Europe, 57% of Note 7 customers have exchanged their phone in the week since the exchange program began. Of those people exchanging, 90% chose a new Note 7 and 3% chose an alternative Samsung phone, the company says. (That leaves 7% taking the refund option.) Samsung predicts that the recall will be completed in Europe by early October, allowing a good buffer before the new street date.
The relatively high rate of returns in the first week isn't surprising, given that Samsung last week rolled out a software update with warning messages to owners of the old Note 7, while also capping the battery charge at 60 percent. Samsung today confirmed that "strong co-operation with retail partners, daily direct communications with customers and software updates" has had a positive impact on the number of Europeans returning their Notes, adding that every Note 7 owner had now received a "safety message," either as a "push notification, email, social media message or carrier communication."
New Note 7s, like the ones that'll go on sale from October 28, can be identified by their green battery icon.
Alex was with Android Central for over a decade, producing written and video content for the site, and served as global Executive Editor from 2016 to 2022.
