Why is the Note 7 explosion treated differently in the Chinese market? Samsung still has no explanation

Today, Samsung officially held a Note 7 briefing, and the investigation results showed that the cause of the Samsung Note 7 battery spontaneous combustion was defects in battery design and manufacturing. This is basically consistent with the media's previous speculation.

Samsung said that both batches of Note 7 batteries had problems. The SDI battery had a squeezed and damaged upper right corner, which caused a short circuit and spontaneous combustion, while the ATL battery had a burr on the positive electrode welding, which pierced the battery and caused a short circuit and fire. Koh Dong-jin, head of Samsung's mobile phone department, said that Samsung was responsible for not being able to properly certify the design and test. Samsung will put product safety first in the future.

Samsung does not seem to have a good answer to a question that makes us think deeply, that is, "Why does Samsung treat the Chinese market differently?" Previously, Samsung insisted that the Chinese version of the Galaxy Note 7 has been strictly tested and there are no safety issues with the battery, so users can buy it with confidence.

But we know that after the Note7 exploded in the United States, Samsung implemented a "global recall" that did not include the Chinese market; and after it exploded twice in China, Samsung said it was "caused by external heat", and Korean media even revealed that Samsung would bring consumers whose phones exploded to justice.

That is to say, the global recall of 2.5 million Note 7s does not include the Chinese market. Subsequently, Samsung was interviewed by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China, but it only announced the recall of 1,858 Note 7 phones in China. Even after the Note 7 explosion incident in China, Samsung conducted its own inspection, "The results showed that the explosion of the product was caused by external heating, not a problem with the product itself." Although it finally recalled the product in the Chinese market under great pressure, the preferential treatment was not as strong as that in the United States, South Korea and other markets.

Double standards in the most important market

Samsung has always denied that the Note7 sold in China could explode, and has always insisted that the battery supplier is different. But we don't know whether the explosion, which is manifested as a battery problem, is actually a battery problem or a phone design problem. There is more than one battery supplier, so why did other phones not explode but the Samsung Note7 did? From this perspective, Samsung's performance this time is disappointing; its "double standards" in China and other markets are obviously intolerable.

At the press conference, when answering the question about the different treatment of Chinese users, Samsung stated that the B (ATL) battery used by Chinese users and the A (SDI) battery used in the global market are not the same battery. At that time, it was believed that the battery produced by company A did not cause the problem with company B, and the authoritative agency also believed that there was no problem with battery B.

As for why China was not included in the first wave of recall countries, Samsung said that this was mainly because Samsung initially wrongly judged that there was no battery problem with the second batch of Note7s produced, and it was not treating the Chinese market differently. After realizing its initial misjudgment, it conducted a second recall and apologized to Chinese users again for this.

However, in response to Sina Technology's question, "Why didn't Apple have any battery problems when it also used B-type batteries?", Samsung Electronics Mobile Communications President Koh Dong-jin did not respond. I think there will probably be no answer to this for a long time to come.

The lost market share may not be regained

Originally, the Chinese mainland market was Samsung's most important market in the world, but Samsung has always looked down on the Chinese mainland market. The disrespect for the Chinese mainland market has a long history. As early as 1995, more than 20 years ago, Sun Tianshuai firmly refused the Korean female boss's request to kneel down, which won the applause of the Chinese people, but also reflected the Koreans' arrogant attitude towards China. More than 20 years later, Samsung still "inherits" the Koreans' attitude towards China, which is simply incomprehensible!

Samsung may hope that the Note 7 battery self-ignition incident can be put to rest with today's investigation results. After the new year, Samsung urgently needs to rely on the next generation of flagship phones to prove to the investment market that Samsung has returned to the top position of Android phones.

However, protecting the lives and safety of consumers is always the unshirkable responsibility of every company. Many foreign brands should not set double standards and treat consumers differently. Otherwise, it will not only make consumers "disappointed", but also make their own brands "overthrown".

The Chinese market is becoming more and more mature, and Chinese consumers have more and more choices. Although we have rarely seen examples of a foreign brand going bankrupt in the Chinese market, it will always set a precedent if consumers all stay away from an arrogant foreign brand.

The discontinuation of sales of Samsung Note 7 has resulted in the iPhone being the only remaining player in the high-end mobile phone market, and this situation has also created an excellent opportunity for domestic mobile phones to enter the high-end market.

According to IHS Technology data, the sales volume of smartphones in China in the third quarter of 2016 was 123 million units, a 15% increase over the same period last year. OPPO, vivo, and Huawei ranked in the top three, while Samsung was out of the top five in the Chinese market due to the explosion of the Note7. 2016 was the worst year for Samsung smartphones and the best year for domestic smartphones.

The year that Samsung missed, the mobile phone market has gone from a red ocean to a bloody ocean. When Samsung stood up again, looking around, OPPO, vivo, and Huawei have already been full of red flags. What Samsung has not realized so far is that the public needs not only the reasons why the Samsung Note 7 battery exploded, but also an apology that has been delayed.

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.