It seems this is finally the end of the line for the Galaxy Note 7.
Following reports that Samsung was simply "adjusting" its Galaxy Note 7 production to check on recently reported problems with new phones, the company has issued a statement that it is ceasing sales of the phone worldwide. In the same statement, the Korean electronics giant is urging all Galaxy Note 7 owners to power down and stop using their phones. Its recall page has been updated to reflect the information.
The statement reads:
Because consumers' safety remains our top priority, Samsung will ask all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note7 while the investigation is taking place.
Consumers with either an original Galaxy Note7 or replacement Galaxy Note7 device should power down and stop using the device and take advantage of the remedies available.
The official order from Samsung that it is completely halting sales around the world is a massive move, but is also something that many retailers and carriers around the have already done for them — in all likelihood you couldn't buy a Note 7 in the past week even if you wanted to.
Truly the end of the line; there's no coming back.
More damning is the concession that even new replacement Galaxy Note 7s have been deemed to be unsafe by Samsung to the point where even using the "safe" replacement phones isn't worth the risk. This is certainly a feeling much of the public has already reached after nearly a dozen battery failures in new Note 7s have been reported in the U.S. in just the past week, but hearing directly from Samsung reaches a new level. This is the same type of statement that Samsung made following initial reports of fires over a month ago before it initiated a worldwide recall of the first Note 7s sold. Just as was the case then, Samsung says that it is working with the appropriate regulatory bodies in each region to address the reports.
This is the final shoe to drop, of course, as the assumption is that the halting of sales may be a permanent move despite the wording from the statement of a potential "resolution" for the issues. At this point when Samsung is telling its partners to stop selling the phone and urging customers to no longer use the phone, it's hard to come back.
