What to do with Samsung's recalled Note 7? Dismantle and extract precious metals

Ever wonder what happened to Samsung's recalled Galaxy Note 7 smartphones? They could be used to extract precious metals like gold.

Samsung is recalling the Galaxy Note 7 worldwide. Samsung calls on Galaxy Note 7 users to return their phones through operator business halls. Users who request a refund or purchase other brands of smartphones will receive a $25 subsidy, while users who purchase other Samsung smartphone models will receive a $100 subsidy.

Wired reported that Samsung has a warehouse in Texas that can accommodate nearly 2 million Galaxy Note 7s that will be recalled in the United States. After Samsung takes back these phones, it will hand them over to recycling companies. Recycling companies recycle consumers' electronic devices, disassemble them, and extract precious metals from them.

Recycling companies stand to make a tidy profit from the recalled Galaxy Note 7. For-profit and nonprofit organizations use specialized processes and tools to dismantle the phones and extract the metals used to make smartphones, which are often precious metals including gold and silver.

According to the data from the US Environmental Protection Agency, recycling 1 million smartphones can extract 75 pounds of gold, 772 pounds of silver and more than 35,000 pounds of copper. Samsung needs to recycle about 2 million Galaxy Note 7s in the United States, so American recycling companies can extract 150 pounds of gold, 1,542 pounds of silver and more than 70,000 pounds of copper from them, making millions of dollars in profit. It is worth pointing out that this money has nothing to do with Samsung.

However, the Galaxy Note 7 is not necessarily a bonanza for recycling companies. Recycling companies said that the Galaxy Note 7 battery is fixed with glue, which increases the risk of recycling. Some Galaxy Note 7 users said that despite the unsafe factors, they will not return the phone.

Samsung declined to comment.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.