Faced with consumers who don't even want compensation, Samsung decides to lock their Note7 phones

Half a year has passed since the Samsung Galaxy Note7 "explosion scandal" that caused a lot of controversy last year. Now it seems that the dust has settled and few people are talking about this old news anymore. Samsung officially announced the results of the investigation before the Spring Festival (there was no suspense in fact). According to Samsung's own public data, 96% of the Note7 phones have been recycled worldwide and 99% in China.

△Your Honor, the criminal is this cell phone

This matter seems to have come to an end. I believe that Samsung's top executives don't want to see Note7 again in this life, and they even want to bury all the recalled machines in the Mariana Trench. In theory, they should also be eager for the memory-erasing pen in "Men in Black" to be invented as soon as possible, flash it to all consumers, and everything will be fine.

Come on, let's forget all the unpleasantness

But the result is not like that. In fact, news about Samsung Note7 recycling appears every now and then, as if they are afraid that everyone has forgotten that Samsung's flagship model was equipped with a blasting function last year. These news are generally about Note7 recycling issues, such as the previous firmware push that limits the Note7's maximum charging power to 60%, and the cooperation with Australian telecommunications operators to cut off the Note7's communication network, etc., urging users to quickly put their beloved Note7 into explosion-proof boxes and send them back to Samsung.

But even so, Samsung is still not satisfied. Recently, Samsung finally decided to use a big move to completely send Note7 to the grave. Samsung announced that it will push the latest mandatory upgrade firmware from February 17, limiting the battery of Note7 to 0%, turning it into a high-tech brick. Whether to sell the brick worth 6,000 yuan to Samsung is up to you.

It is no exaggeration to say that the global recall of Samsung Note7 is the most serious accident in the history of the mobile phone industry. Not only because of Samsung's status as a giant in the mobile phone industry and the high expectations placed on Note7, but also because of the huge global sales of Note7 and the huge economic and reputation losses it caused. Moreover, the damage to the ecology caused by the destruction of such a large number of smartphones cannot be underestimated. For the market, the recycling of Note7 involves a sum of money of 20 billion yuan, and even gave rise to some gray interest chains. Of course, Samsung is responsible for all the blame.

Samsung really wants to cry because it has failed to meet the recall target even though the class representative is choking you and forcing you to hand in your homework.

△ "If you don't stop, I'll punch you in the chest with my little fist!"

I spent money but couldn't get the Samsung Note7 back.

Samsung is indeed to blame for launching products with major defects, which brought safety risks to users. The poor way Samsung's public relations department handled the "explosion incident" can indeed be included in business school textbooks as a negative example. But after it was finally confirmed that the legendary "safe batch" did not exist, Samsung's follow-up work was conscientious.

Samsung recalled all Note7s worldwide with the same treatment as explosives, and promised to refund all users in full, regardless of whether the machine was faulty, whether there was an invoice, or whether all accessories were complete. This shows Samsung's sincerity and determination to recycle Note7s.

However, things did not go as planned. So far, Samsung has recalled 96% of the Note7 phones worldwide, about 2.93 million units. The data looks very good. In view of the extremely high recycling rate of Note7, the US Department of Transportation has decided to cancel the requirement for airlines to issue Galaxy Note7 warning notices before passengers board. However, there are still 130,000 Samsung Note7 phones around the world. These 130,000 phones are 130,000 time bombs, which worry Samsung.

Samsung really wants to get it right once and for all and recall all Note7 phones, rather than face lawsuits from users about Note7 explosions from time to time in the next few years, even if that means Samsung has to repeatedly make Note7 headlines a few more times.

Why is China's recycling rate the highest? Because of the help of the gray industry

"When Samsung's (Note7) recycling was at its peak in November, my store made nearly 10,000 yuan a week," said Mr. Yu, who runs a mobile phone store in Shijiazhuang Taihe Electronics City. He made a fortune from Samsung's recall and later moved his store closer to the main elevator when he renewed his contract at the end of the year.

Before Samsung announced the recall of Note7 in China in mid-October, some people had keenly sensed the business opportunity.

"They started recycling Samsung Note7 phones early on at a price slightly higher than the second-hand market price, and made more than 1,000 yuan in profit on each phone after the recall began." Mr. Yu said a little frustrated. He only started the Note7 recycling business at a high price after the recall plan was announced, but he still made nearly 500 yuan in profit on each phone.

In fact, the probability of Note7 crashing is very low, and the phone itself is excellent, so many people do not plan to sell their phones. In addition, Samsung's refund process is complicated and slow, which also discourages many Note7 users. No need to undergo complicated phone inspections, and you can get cash immediately, such a service has attracted the attention of unofficial merchants.

They can also make a profit from customers who want a full refund. "We can provide formal invoices and recycle the parts that Samsung doesn't want," said Mr. Yu, who still has a lot of Note7 parts on his counter. "It's okay to hold back some of the parts, because they're very cheap anyway," he said.

Samsung recycled 96% of its Note 7 phones worldwide, but in China, with the help of profitable merchants, the recycling rate reached 99%. This means that of the 190,984 phones sold in China, less than 2,000 are still in circulation.

These uncollectible phones are probably collected by people. You should know that even the iPhone 1, which sold more than 6 million units, can be sold for thousands of dollars in the collectors' circle if it is unopened. The Note 7, which was reduced to only more than 1,000 units by Samsung, is the shortest-lived flagship of Samsung and may even be the turning point of the fate of Samsung mobile phones. Its collection value is self-evident. There is still a great demand for Note 7 on Xianyu, which is very lively. One of the exploded safety versions of Samsung Note 7, which came with a test report, was priced at 100 million yuan. After selling it, the owner will be financially free and will probably wake up with a smile in his sleep.

△Become a collector, only 5988

Samsung still has trouble with the successful recall of 2.93 million Note7s

Some people say that Samsung is in such a hurry to recall the Note7 because it is rushing to dismantle the parts, refurbish and sell them separately; some people say that Samsung intends to collect precious metals from the recycled Note7 phones; some people say that Samsung hates the Note7 so much that it wants to burn it as soon as possible.

In response to media inquiries, a Samsung spokesperson said he was unwilling to discuss the issue, only saying that Samsung would not repair or refurbish the Note7, but would destroy them all. However, based on information from various sources, we can also outline how the Sanxingdui Note7 will be handled.

Some parts of Samsung Note7 were removed for use in other products. This is true, but it is not hardware, but software. For example, the interface elements of Note7 were given to Note5 in the last update.

As for the machine itself, some were sent back to Samsung for testing. Some people have questioned Samsung's findings before, but I think it should be fine. After all, Samsung has three million Note7 samples, so the results should be credible. I don't know why, but when I imagine the scene of Samsung testing Note7, Rong Mama comes to my mind...

△ "I'll let you explode again! Do you think you are two kings or four twos?!"

Of course, Samsung and the third party could not have sampled 3 million Note7s during their investigation, and the remaining Note7s may have gone to a recycling company in Texas, U.S. According to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, recycling 1 million smartphones can extract about 75 pounds of gold, 772 pounds of silver, and more than 35,000 pounds of copper.

Samsung recycled about 2 million Galaxy Note 7s in the United States, and related recycling companies in the United States could extract about 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. However, all these profits belong to the recycling companies and have nothing to do with Samsung Electronics. Samsung also needs to pay a lot of shipping and handling fees.

Not only that, the destruction of Samsung Note7 is also a disaster for the ecology. According to data from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 2013, it takes an average of 165 pounds of raw mineral materials to produce a mobile phone that weighs less than one pound. Humans cannot completely recycle a mobile phone with current means. The result of the Note 7 is that a large amount of rare earth elements are wasted. The reason why it is regrettable is that these materials originally took a lot of manpower and material resources to mine and produce, but in the end they had to be wasted and cause damage to the environment.

Even if we use all the tricks, it may not work. I don't know when the shadow of Samsung Note7 will disappear.

Samsung certainly did not expect that the flagship that was expected to stop the iPhone 7 would become a lingering nightmare. It has been half a year since the Samsung Note7 explosion incident, but Samsung has never been able to completely turn the page because the last 4% of the units could not be recalled. Even now, any news about Samsung cannot avoid the curse of Note7.

When Galaxy S8 was revealed, the public was concerned about the continued use of SDI batteries; when a battery factory in Tianjin exploded, everyone was still focused on the batteries that caught fire in the warehouse, which was called the "arsenal" where SDI stored batteries; when Samsung family prince Lee Jae-yong was tried for the "girlfriend gate", everyone linked it to the Note7 "explosion gate", and suspected that Samsung's empire was about to collapse.

It is precisely for these reasons that Samsung once again pushed a mandatory upgrade update, completely locking the Note7 and urging users to send it back to Samsung for destruction.

Although this incident caused Samsung direct economic losses of more than 8 billion US dollars, and indirect losses reached more than 20 billion US dollars, Samsung is well-off and has the full support of the South Korean government. It is only a matter of time to overcome the difficulties. I am not a "patriotic thief" and I don't want or believe that Samsung will fall. I hope Samsung can get rid of the haze of the Note7 incident as soon as possible and bring more technological innovations such as OLED, S-PEN, and curved screens to consumers.

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.