Samsung must now x-ray batteries for its Note 7 phone in South Korea
South Korean technology giant Samsung has been told it needs to x-ray new batteries for its Note 7 phone to make sure they’re safe.
The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards made the order as Samsung prepares to resume sales of the smartphone.
Samsung, the world’s biggest smartphone maker, announced a global recall of at least 2.5m Note 7s earlier this month due to problems with the battery causing them to catch fire. In South Korea it’s thought the company sold more than 400,000 of the phones before the recall order was issued.
Samsung’s market capitalisation has dropped by some £5.3bn in the wake of the reports of phones catching fire – and comes just as the company is gearing to wage war with Apple’s iPhone for new customers.
The battery blunder could cost Samsung to the tune of almost £4bn in lost revenue, some analysts expect. Samsung plans to resume new sales of the Note 7 in South Korea on 28 September.
The Note 7 was lauded as being more advanced than the most recently available iPhones, featuring eye-scanning technology that moved a step beyond Apple’s use of biometrics.
The Note 7 is also waterproof to depths of five feet, has a curved screen and is compatible with a new VR headset.