Samsung had it rough towards the end of the year. The Galaxy Note 7 was released and awarded rave reviews; everyone that came into contact with it was impressed. The phone was a truly high end offering, until reports started popping up about battery explosions. Still Samsung hoped it was an isolated case and they issued exchanges to those affected. The problem started to spread to all parts of the world apart from China whose version had batteries from a different manufacturer. Eventually, Samsung was forced to recall the device; they let Galaxy Note 7 owners exchange it for a Galaxy S7 Edge. At the time a whopping 4.3 million devices had already been bought. Customers loved this device so much that some refused to return them forcing Samsung to send software updates that would disable the phone.
Disposing these millions of units presented a new challenge. Green groups have pressured Samsung to use methods that do not harm the environment, with Greenpeace leading the pack. In fact, one of their protestors interrupted Samsung Keynote at MWC earlier this year. Samsung took note and decided to refurbish the Galaxy Note 7, this move will be more environmental friendly than disposing the units. The company had previously rejected the ideas of reselling the Galaxy Note 7 but it seems they have had a change of heart.
The markets that will receive the refurbished devices will be determined by local regulators and carriers. Moreover, these phones might come with a different name and probably have a smaller battery. I think Samsung’s move to refurbish this iconic device is smart one, it will not only minimize the environmental impact, but it will let people have another shot at this amazing phone at a price that will be lower than when it originally got launched last year.