The Galaxy Note 7 fiasco caused a big dent in Samsung’s reputation, but now, the Korea firm is looking to derive some benefits from the leftover stockpile. On Tuesday, the electronics giant announced that it will recycle the parts of the Note 7 and extract some of the rare metals from them, such as gold.
Samsung to recover 157 tons of rare metals
After the Note 7 was reported as having a faulty battery last year, Samsung recalled the device. Earlier this month, it launched a refurbished version called the Galaxy Note FE with key features retained but the battery power lowered. Now the company has decided to recycle the parts of the Galaxy Note 7 units that have not been refurbished and resold.
Samsung stated that it is planning to recycle the OLED display modules, memory chips and cameras, whereas other vital parts will be sold. After the recycling process, the Korean firm expects to collect about 157 tons of resources such as copper, silver and gold. Further, in cooperation with recycling firms, the company will work toward utilizing other parts from the phablets.
“The latest step is in line with requests of global environmental institutes, which have called for us to recycle parts for the remaining Note 7,” a Samsung official said.
Previously, environmental activists such as Greenpeace urged the company to recycle or recover the rare materials from the devices. Samsung’s recycling plan will help to safeguard the global environment by reducing industrial waste, the official said.
Looking ahead after Note 7 fiasco
The Note 7 fiasco last year cost Samsung about $5.4 billion in operating profits. Up until the recall, the company sold a total of 3.06 million Note 7 units. The debacle took its toll on Samsung’s image, as even the aviation sector restricted the Note 7 on planes. After the investigation, it was concluded that a faulty design and certain battery issues were to be blamed for the explosions.
Samsung clearly wants to bury the failure in the past and focus on the Galaxy S8, which was launched in April, and other upcoming handsets. The Galaxy S8 has received a good response so far, soothing the company’s nerves.
Last week, Samsung may have accidentally revealed the Galaxy Note 8 while promoting its exclusive Exynos chipsets, which were used in the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. The Korean firm recently pushed a tweet promoting its Exynos chipsets. However, what caught our attention was that the smartphone shown in the official advertisement did not resemble any of the devices that are currently available.
This fueled rumors that the phone in the picture could only be the much-anticipated Galaxy Note 8. The smartphone in the picture has an Infinity display with smaller bezels than those on the two current flagships from the Korean firm.
So far, there have been various rumors and reports surrounding the Galaxy Note 8, suggesting it to be one of the brightest smartphones ever launched by the Korean firm. Samsung surely needs such phones, especially after the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco and rising expectations surrounding the iPhone 8.
