Samsung is reportedly recalling its new Galaxy Note 7 smartphone worldwide after report of the device catching fire while charging emerged. The Note 7 was unveiled just a month ago.
Samsung said it had found a problem with the phone’s battery and was halting sales. It will replace all Galaxy Note 7s with a new product regardless of when it was purchased.
South Korean news agency Yonhap had previously reported that there have been five claims around the world of Note 7s catching fire. Samsung said it had been alerted to 35 cases worldwide.
Smartphone giant Samsung has said it will stop the sale of its latest flagship Galaxy Note 7 model over problems with the battery. The decision follows reports in the US and South Korea of the phone “exploding” during or after charging.
The South Korean company said in a statement it would take about two weeks to prepare replacement devices. The recall comes just one week ahead of an expected presentation of a new iPhone model from its main rival Apple.
On Wednesday Samsung said it had halted shipments of the phone to the top three South Korean carriers as it conducted additional quality testing.
A YouTube user uploaded a video of a Galaxy Note 7 with burnt rubber casing and damaged screen under the name Ariel Gonzalez on 29 August.
He said the handset “caught fire” shortly after he unplugged the official Samsung charger, less than a fortnight after purchasing it.
“There was another explosion of the Galaxy Note 7. It was my friend’s phone. A Samsung employee checked the site and he is currently in talks over the compensation with Samsung. You should use its original charger just in case and leave the phone far away from where you are while charging,” a user wrote.
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The Galaxy Note 7 model is the latest of Samsungs’ series of so-called phablets – smartphones with very large screens and, in the case of Samsung, featuring a stylus.