The rumor that Samsung will be releasing refurbished Note 7 devices has started surfacing months ago. However, the company never really managed to address this speculation properly, at least until now. On March 27, Samsung has finally given light to the rumor by confirming that the tech giant is indeed prepping up for the release of re-conditioned Galaxy Note 7 devices.
Apparently, Samsung has released a post on its webpage detailing matters regarding the Note 7. However, the specificities of the post revolves around the recycling of the discontinued phablet. Releasing refurbished units just fall under that goal.
Generally, what Samsung wants to do is to recycle its recalled Galaxy Note 7 units. To make that possible, the first step in the company's plan is to refurbish them or make them rental phones where applicable. Next, Samsung aims to detach salvageable components for re-using. Third, the company will be using environmentally friendly methods in the various recycling processes such as metal extraction.
As far as getting a Galaxy Note 7 as a refurbished or rental phone is concerned, Samsung says that applicability will depend upon the advice of regulatory authorities and carriers alongside the consideration of demand. The company explained that the markets where the Note 7 units will be released to and the specific ETAs will be determined accordingly.
Additionally, Samsung made it clear via The Verge that the company's objective is to simply minimize environmental impacts. The technicalities of the refurbished Note 7 device will be announced when the phone becomes available. This includes details about the name, specs and price. More importantly, the tech giant clarified that it will not offer the refurbished Galaxy Note 7 in the US.
As far as the company's recycling goals are concerned, Samsung also says that some of the Galaxy Note 7 units will have their various components removed by expert companies that specialize in such services. The phones' semiconductors and camera modules will be detached by appropriate companies and use them for "test sample production purposes". Samsung also promises to use eco-friendly companies in recycling left over components and in extracting precious metals like gold, silver copper and metal.
