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Samsung’s making sure the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 won’t explode

Published Jan 23rd, 2017 7:45AM EST
Galaxy S8 vs. Galaxy Note 8

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Samsung on Monday announced the results of its Galaxy Note 7 investigation. The South Korean giant blamed the phone’s batteries, saying that two independent battery issues caused overheating and explosions before and after the first recall. The subliminal messages were pretty clear, though. Samsung did not take appropriate steps to ensure the batteries would not become a safety threat. The company acknowledged that it’s taking “responsibility for our failure to ultimately identify and verify the issues for battery design before launch of the Note 7.”

Samsung mobile chief DJ Koh said that Samsung wanted a Note 7 design that needed a 3,300 mAh battery ““in a more compact form compared to previous Note models.”

“To meet that performance, new manufacturing technologies were used,” Koh said, according to The Register.

“We provided the target for the battery specifications,” and must share the blame.

Samsung seems committed not to repeat its mistakes in the future. The company has elaborated and 8-step process to improve quality assurance for smartphone batteries, and prevent future accidents.

Samsung will improve some of the battery tests it performed before the Galaxy Note 7 recall, like running more durability stress tests and compare the battery of a phone with standardized models.

Samsung will also use other measures to test batteries, including X-ray tests, charge and discharge tests, and battery leakage inspections. It’ll also check for voltage changes throughout the manufacturing process, and open battery cells to inspect their internal structure. The company will also introduce a new test that simulates 2 weeks of real-life use in 5 days.

As The Wall Street Journal notes in the following infographic, some of the tests Samsung will introduce may have prevented the two separate Galaxy Note 7 battery issues that killed the phablet well ahead of its time.

On top of that, Samsung also said that some design changes are coming to future Galaxy phones, to ensure that batteries won’t explode. Koh stated that Samsung will make sure that “there is more space around the battery with a new bracket design to protect against physical force when the battery is dropped.” Furthermore, “improved software protection that governs battery charging temperature, current and duration,” is also in the works.

Finally, Samsung also created a “Battery Advisory Group of external advisers, academic and research experts” that should help set out new battery safety practices and share them with the rest of the industry.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.