Samsung hoped its new battery safety procedures would inspire the phone industry. Good luck with that.
The Galaxy Note 7 was banned from planes because of the risk of overheating batteries.
Months after the Galaxy Note 7 debacle, the topic remains too hot for the rest of the wireless industry to handle.
With Samsung’s Galaxy S8 to launch next week, a renewed discussion of the Note 7 , which had an unhealthy tendency to catch fire and which had to be recalled, is inevitable.
Samsung opened that door in January when it embarked on a mea culpa tour. Beyond spelling out the cause of the overheating problem in its popular phone, the company unveiled an eight-point battery check system it said surpassed industry practices, and it invited rivals to follow its model.
The upcoming Galaxy S8 was among the first phones to go through the new process.
“This is another opportunity to definitely increase the level of standard of excellence regarding lithium ion batteries, not just for Samsung, but throughout the entire industry,” D. J. Koh, Samsung’s mobile chief, said in an interview in January, touting the system as a potential global standard.
But two months after the introduction, what’s the industry response? A collective shrug.
Interviews with phone makers and carriers found that while all placed a high priority on safety, few would talk specifically about Samsung’s new battery check process or the idea of adopting it for themselves. Many expressed confidence that the processes they had in place were already sufficient.
Thanks to the Note 7, the explosive nature of lithium ion batteries is once again a fresh worry for consumers. Overheating batteries were behind all those hoverboards catching fire , and even temporarily delayed the rollout of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Apple, too, dealt with battery fires , even if it blamed the cause on external damage. For Samsung, the world’s largest phone maker, the recall was one heck of a black eye.
Samsung’s eight-point battery check.
“One day when I was driving, the [Note 7] started smoking, and I threw it out my window,” said Matt Gioia, a 31-year-old who said he would not go back to Samsung because of the incident and the lack of customer service follow-up.
For the many smaller, lesser-known companies out there, the heat from a similar battery controversy could be fatal. And if it can happen to a company as powerful as Samsung, it can happen to anyone.
“I’m 100 percent convinced that current battery tests would have not detected these failures,” said Gerbrand Ceder, a professor of materials science and engineering for the University of California at Berkeley, one of the independent experts Samsung appointed to advise it on batteries.
That’s not to say these others aren’t quietly looking into the issue.
“I’m sure the engineers will be looking at the info Samsung made public,” said a spokesman for a high-profile phone maker who asked not to be identified. “I’m sure every [phone maker] will be doing the same. ”
Just don’t hold your breath for any public declarations of support for the Samsung way.
A Samsung spokesman said the company began speaking with industry organizations in January and plans to continue sharing its findings from its battery research with the industry.
LG, Samsung’s cross-town rival, has been the most vocal player.
