Report: Samsung delaying Galaxy Note 7 shipments for additional quality testing

Samsung told Reuters shipments of the new Galaxy Note 7 handset are being delayed “due to additional tests being conducted for product quality.”

The South Korean electronics behemoth didn’t offer specifics regarding what additional tests are being conducted on the high-end device, but the news follows a report from Phone Arena earlier this week that Galaxy Note 7 owners are taking to online forums to complain about multiple problems with their phones. Users say the device is prone to crashing, bootloops and even freezing that leaves it inoperable.

Samsung stores have reportedly been unable to solve the problems and are instead replacing affected phones with new ones. Meanwhile, other users have complained that their batteries have exploded.

While it’s unclear just how widespread any problems might be, they pose a serious threat to the world’s largest smartphone vendor at a critical time. The Galaxy Note 7 launched in the U.S. less than two weeks ago and Samsung said demand has outpaced supply and forced the company to push back the launch in some markets.

Samsung stumbled slightly a year ago when it ran out of new Galaxy devices it had set aside for iPhone customers to test drive for a month on the first day of the promotion. The campaign included the Galaxy S6 Edge, S6 Edge+ and Galaxy Note 5, and the company blamed unexpectedly strong demand for the shortage.

The release of the Galaxy Note 7 follows the launch earlier this year of the Galaxy S7 Edge, which was the top-selling Android phone in the world during the first half of 2016. Indeed, Samsung made the three best-selling Android devices during the first six months of 2016: The S7 Edge shipped 13.3 million units, the Galaxy J2 shipped 13 million units, and 11.8 million Galaxy S7 handsets were shipped.

Samsung remains the No. 1 smartphone vendor worldwide, and it is positioned to continue that momentum with the Galaxy Note 7. But the smartphone market has become extremely competitive as growth has slowed, and significant quality control problems with its new phone could prove costly.

For more:
- see this Reuters story
- read this Phone Arena report

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