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Samsung confirms its Galaxy Note7 refurb sales plans

by Mark Tyson on 28 March 2017, 12:31

Tags: Samsung (005935.KS)

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Just over a month ago we first got wind of Samsung's plans to refurbish the stockpile of 2.5 million Galaxy Note7 smartphones it was sitting on. A South Korean source said that Samsung would refurb the handsets with a new smaller capacity battery and new back cover. At the time it was said this move would both minimize profit damage and avoid environmental costs.

Now Samsung has confirmed plans as outlined above, and in a statement given to The Verge says that it to sell refurbished devices "solely to reduce and minimize any environmental impact". It hinted that the refurbed phone will be renamed when its revised specs and pricing are announced.

Samsung's statement about its Note7 recycling program sets out three principles it will follow. Firstly, it sounds like any unused or as-new devices will be refurbed into the new smartphone range as outlined above. Secondly, other phones will have salvageable components like camera modules and so on which can be easily extracted and reused. Thirdly, deeper recycling techniques will be used to extract precious and rare earth metals from components, as the firm sees fit.

Those in the US thinking of snapping up a Note7 derived bargain might be disappointed, as Samsung will not be selling them in the states. We don't have a definitive list of countries where these mobiles will be sold, however the original report from Korea suggested India, Vietnam, and other emerging markets would be the main beneficiaries of the cutting edge made-safe phablets. After local regional regulatory approval it is thought that these Note7 refurbs will begin to reach consumers in June.

Component images via iFixit.



HEXUS Forums :: 7 Comments

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Well that's disappointing, I was hoping to pick up a non-explosive refurbed Note7 at a reduced price for the wife as her Note3 is getting on a bit. I guess they need to recoup that massive financial burden they incurred by the recall.
I'm very happy they're doing this. Chucking them all, even if extracting precious metals, would have been a _massive_ problem. There's enough e-waste being dumped into landfills without brand-new products being dumped there too. And I imagine there are quite a few customers out there for a Note 7 with a slightly smaller battery.
It's a shame they didn't offer them back to the original buyers first, assuming they're the identical bar the smaller battery, for a reduced fee.

I think I'd snap one up now if I could, as there's not a cat in hell's chance I'm buying the ergonomic nightmare that the S8 looks to be.
I'm just happy that they are being environmentally responsible.
Valantar
I'm very happy they're doing this. Chucking them all, even if extracting precious metals, would have been a _massive_ problem. There's enough e-waste being dumped into landfills without brand-new products being dumped there too. And I imagine there are quite a few customers out there for a Note 7 with a slightly smaller battery.

They will either end up in trash now or in a few years time when broken or obsolete, what's the difference? At least a big company like Samsung can't get away with chucking it in a landfill, too many end users will just chuck it in their general waste rather than properly recycling. It's probably better for the environment for Samsung to recycle them all now but what Samsung's statement should have said if they were being honest is: “solely to reduce our recycling costs and minimize any impact to our profits”.

For Samsung to dress this up as being environmentally responsible is disingenuous, it's nothing to do with that at all.