South Korean tech
giant Samsung has permanently ceased production of its high-end Galaxy Note 7
smartphones after reports of devices it had deemed safe catching fire.
The firm had already
reduced Galaxy Note 7 production volumes.
Owners are expected
to be able to return the phones for a refund or an exchange for a different
Samsung phone.
The firm had earlier
said it would stop sales of the phone.
"We recently
readjusted the production volume for thorough investigation and quality
control, but putting consumer safety as top priority, we have reached a final
decision to halt production of Galaxy Note 7s," the company said.
"For the
benefit of consumers' safety, we stopped sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note
7 and have consequently decided to stop production."
Earlier, consumer
tech analyst Caroline Milanesi of Creative Strategies told the BBC that Samsung
should "call it a day" on production of the Galaxy Note 7 to limit
long-term risk to the brand.
However, South
Korea's finance minister had warned that the country's exports would be hurt if
the phone model was scrapped.
In September,
Samsung recalled around 2.5 million phones after complaints of exploding
batteries.
It later insisted that
all replaced devices were safe.
However, there were
then reports that those phones were catching fire too.
A Kentucky man said
he woke up to a bedroom full of smoke from a replaced Note 7, days after a
domestic flight in the US was evacuated after a new device started emitting
smoke in the cabin.
Even as late as
Monday evening, a spokeswoman insisted the phones were safe to use.
But on Tuesday, the
company said it would stop Galaxy Note 7 production.
Authorities in the
US and South Korea are investigating why even the replacement Note 7 phones
that Samsung equipped with a safer battery reportedly caught fire.
An official at the
South Korean safety agency said the replacement phones might have a defect that
was different from the problem with the original Galaxy Note 7s.
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