A report earlier this week said that Samsung is preparing a Galaxy Note 7 relaunch. The company is allegedly looking to replace the faulty batteries with lower-capacity models, and start selling the refurbished phone in emerging markets including India and Vietnam at some point in June. While Samsung isn’t ready to make any announcements regarding the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung India confirmed that the Galaxy Note 7 isn’t heading to the India.
“The report on Samsung planning to sell refurbished Galaxy Note 7 smartphone[s] in India is incorrect,” a Samsung India spokesperson told Gadgets 360.
Samsung fans who may have hoped to score a cheaper Galaxy Note 7 should not despair, though, all hope is not lost. The statement above does not categorically deny Samsung’s interest in selling refurbished Galaxy Note 7 phones. It just says that India won’t get them — as you can see, there’s no word on Vietnam.
Samsung does have a huge Galaxy Note 7 problem on its hands, the previous report suggested. The company has collected 98% of around three million Galaxy Note 7 units it sold around the world. A few weeks ago, Samsung said it used some 200,000 units to investigate the battery problems. Samsung didn’t say how many caught fire, but it’s likely not all of those units were destroyed.
So Samsung has nearly 3 million phones that it has to dispose of in a manner that’s not going to impact the environment. The easier solution might be fixing the handsets and reselling them for a lower price. After all, there are plenty of die-hard Galaxy Note fans out there who kept using the phone long after its official discontinuation. They’ll probably be thrilled to buy a cheaper, safer Galaxy Note 7.
