Samsung Electronics will soon begin selling a refurbished version of its controversial Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, which cost the company millions in losses last year following repeated reports of handsets catching fire
Samsung Galaxy note 7 smartphone. File pic
Samsung Electronics will soon begin selling a refurbished version of its controversial Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, which cost the company millions in losses last year following repeated reports of handsets catching fire.
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The refurbished Galaxy Note FE handset will go on sale on July 7, company sources confirmed on Tuesday.
However, a Samsung spokesperson told Efe news that the handset's cost price is yet to be determined and that they are waiting for their phone and information technology division to officially announce a launch date.
The South Korean tech giant is currently holding its bi-annual strategic forum in Seoul, during which it is expected to announce upcoming launch dates for products including the Galaxy Note 8, the Note 7's successor.
In a first for the company, Samsung had to suspend manufacturing and sales of the Galaxy Note 7 following reports of several of these handsets catching fire.
A subsequent probe found the explosions were caused by the handset's non-removable battery.
The fiasco over Samsung's flagship smartphone caused the firm operating losses of some 6.1 trillion won ($5 billion).
The refurbished Note 7 will have completely updated software as well as a lower-capacity battery compared to the original model, after attempts to develop a long-lasting but small battery were found to be partly to blame for the phones catching fire.
Following the smartphone's recall last year, Samsung received a large number of petitions from environment groups asking it to repair and reuse the 4.3 million Note 7 handsets that were produced.
In March, the company said it would recycle and refurbish the defective phones for sale.
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