Around the world, carriers working together with Samsung are pushing out updates and making changes so that the Galaxy Note 7 will not be usable, and in some cases remotely disabled. The idea is to prompt users to return the handset in exchange for another phone, or get a refund and buy something else.
However over in Korea, Samsung might not be so quick to kill the handset just yet. A report from The Investor has revealed that Samsung might not be disabling the Note 7 in Korea, and that instead the company could choose to issue an update that limits the maximum battery allowed for the phone. Apparently this is out of worry that too many consumers will oppose Samsung’s decision, so the idea is to wait until the return rate has reached about 95%.
An anonymous official from a carrier in Korea was quoted as saying, “We have not yet made any conclusion regarding further recall plans of Note 7 with Samsung Electronics. It is unlikely Samsung will kill off the device this year like it did in the US.” Samsung themselves have yet to confirm the report.
That being said, there was initial resistance in the US as well. All the major carriers save for Verizon had agreed to the update that would disable charging on the phone, but Verizon was worried this might leave customers without a phone for the holiday season. However the carrier later changed their mind and agreed to push it out come January 5, 2017.
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