Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Fiasco

By: Hitesh Sharma

The world’s largest smartphone maker is in news again. But this time around not for a good reason. The latest addition to their flagship series, Samsung Galaxy Note 7, turned out to be a game changer in a different way than Samsung would have expected. Galaxy note 7’s battery has been exploding for users globally.

Impact

Just two weeks into the launch and world has already witnessed more than 2 dozen cases of battery explosion. Following this fiasco Samsung issued a global recall of Note 7 and promised to replace every unit already sold. Samsung’s decision to replace some 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones that were already shipped to retail partners and customers will cost Samsung up to $1 billion. Samsung has seen 11 billion euro wiped off its market value after this recall.

Also, the sales projections for Note 7 device have been cut from 14 million units to 10 million units. This could have a huge financial impact but these numbers are almost insignificant for a company as large as Samsung. The major task for Samsung will be to limit the damage to its brand image.

Samsung’s loss could be Apple’s gain?

Apple and Samsung are two of the biggest players in the smartphone world and fierce competitors. Samsung’s Note 7 recall is a godsend opportunity for apple as it coincides with the Iphone launch. Apple could not have find a better time to unveil Iphone 7. Although Samsung has promised to replace galaxy note 7 units, the damages might have already been done. Users may not wanna go back to Note 7 which in turn will be fruitful for apple. Hence , Apple is set to reap the benefits of samsung’s unfortunate loss.

What’s next ?

Samsung was looking to gain a headstart over its rival but, the decision led to a devastating compromise on quality. The acknowledgement of mistakes on their part and quick pull out of the faulty devices was a positive stroke by Samsung to limit the damage. The best Samsung could do in this situation is to be very transparent in their communication and marketing.