Samsung in China row over Note 7 catching fire

Samsung has found itself in a row with Chinese consumers, with some accusing the firm of being biased against them.

The South Korean firm has not issued a recall of its Galaxy Note 7 in China, despite local media reports of two devices catching fire.

Samsung said it had concluded that the damage was caused by “external heating” so a recall was not necessary.

The vast majority of Note 7s sold in China were equipped with batteries made by a local supplier.

The callbacks elsewhere have been linked to faulty batteries made by Samsung itself.

Big market
China is the world’s largest smartphone market and of key importance to manufacturers.

On 2 September, Samsung issued a recall of 2.5 million phones in certain countries, leaving out China.

The firm said in a statement that the phones sold there did not have the battery manufacturing error that has caused fires in dozens of phones in other places.

Samsung also assured customers that the Galaxy Note 7s in China that went on sale after 1 Sept were “safe to use”.

In the last week, Chinese media have reported that two of the devices appeared to have caught fire. Pictures posted online appeared to show charred Note 7 devices.

Some Chinese consumers said Samsung’s lack of action showed that it was biased against China.

“Caused by external heating? The heat of a person’s body temperature can cause a phone to explode. Sure,” said one user sarcastically on micro-blogging site Weibo.

“Samsung doesn’t dare raise a fuss overseas but in China as soon as explosions are mentioned they blame other people,” another person commented.

“China is a big market. Be careful Samsung, don’t bully China,” warned one user.

Big market
China is the world’s largest smartphone market and of key importance to manufacturers.

On 2 September, Samsung issued a recall of 2.5 million phones in certain countries, leaving out China.

The firm said in a statement that the phones sold there did not have the battery manufacturing error that has caused fires in dozens of phones in other places.

Samsung also assured customers that the Galaxy Note 7s in China that went on sale after 1 Sept were “safe to use”.

In the last week, Chinese media have reported that two of the devices appeared to have caught fire. Pictures posted online appeared to show charred Note 7 devices.

Some Chinese consumers said Samsung’s lack of action showed that it was biased against China.

“Caused by external heating? The heat of a person’s body temperature can cause a phone to explode. Sure,” said one user sarcastically on micro-blogging site Weibo.

“Samsung doesn’t dare raise a fuss overseas but in China as soon as explosions are mentioned they blame other people,” another person commented.

“China is a big market. Be careful Samsung, don’t bully China,” warned one user.