The supposedly doomed Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is rumored to be on the comeback trail. Samsung is said to be refurbishing the controversial devices before making them available to the public once more.
The Korean conglomerate will be replacing the batteries of the Galaxy Note 7 with smaller ones to avoid previous issues from happening again. The news came from a report published on Feb. 21 by "Korea Economic Daily" which said unnamed sources indicated that the troubled tech giant will use 3000mAh to 3200mAh batteries this time. Previously, Samsung used 3500mAh battery packs on the flagship device before they were eventually discovered to ignite due to a design flaw and manufacturing issues.
According to Apple Insider, the completion of the refurbishing project is targeted to be sometime this May while the reselling will proceed in June. The refurbished handsets will be sold mainly in South Korea through carriers and in emerging markets. It is not known how much the Galaxy Note 7 will be resold for but there is a high chance that they will be cheaper than its original price.
Samsung lost an estimated $5 billion from the recalled and later killed Note 7 device. Now that it is being resurrected, the tech giant is hoping to recuperate some of its losses. The last ditch effort to salvage something from the Galaxy Note 7 is also seen as a better alternative to the more expensive recycling of the said unit which numbers in the millions, around 2.5 million according to Venture Beat.
The move is necessary for Samsung to defray the lost billions but it is also a risky one. The company suffered the most in the recently-released U.S. Reputation Quotient Report by the Harris Poll. From fifth place last year, Samsung fell to the 49th spot in the list that ranks the most trusted and highly reputable companies in the United States.
