People loved the Galaxy Note 7 before it met its untimely demise. In fact, some people loved the Note 7 so much that they refused to return the phone even after exploding smartphones burned a family’s house down, destroyed a Jeep and caused personal injuries to several users. Samsung has subsequently released software updates that prevent the Note 7 from charging, which will hopefully finish off any phones out there that haven’t been returned.
Speaking of returned Galaxy Note 7 phones, Samsung is bringing its flagship phablet back from the dead. The company plans to sell refurbished Note 7 handsets in some markets, likely at a heavily discounted price. It remains to be seen how well the refurbs will be received, but a new leak brings good news for potential buyers: There’s now some proof that the newly refurbished Galaxy Note 7 handsets Samsung plans to sell probably won’t explode.
After a thorough investigation, Samsung confirmed what just about everyone already expected: Galaxy Note 7 explosions were caused by a faulty battery design. Samsung tried to stuff too much capacity into the Note 7’s compact battery, and the results were disastrous.
Now, some good news. Freshly leaked photos posted on a Vietnamese Samsung fan forum seemingly show Samsung’s refurbished Galaxy Note 7 with a significantly smaller battery in terms of capacity. While the original Note 7 crammed 3,500 mAh into its battery pack, the refurbished unit will apparently use the same sized battery but with only 3,200 mAh of capacity.
Here are the photos in question, via Slashleaks:
Will the smaller battery convince smartphone shoppers that they’re now safe? That, of course, remains to be seen.