Samsung has had a quiet 2 years free from hiccups, but just mention “exploding smartphone” and we’ll see that the disaster of the tech giant’s Galaxy Note 7 in 2016 is still very fresh in public memory.
This year, it’s flagship Galaxy Note 9, which goes for $1,398 and up, has been well received for the most part.
Fans enjoy its features like the S-Pen stylus, and a water-carbon cooling system that lets gamers play without the phone getting too hot.
In spite of this, trouble has found its way to Samsung’s flagship phone again, as a woman in New York reported the first case of a Galaxy Note 9 combusting.
It Was ‘Note’ Supposed To Catch Fire
Samsung’s updated product safety regime promised that their batteries would go through 8 intensive checks to ensure no phones ever explode again.
Head of the tech firm, Koh Dong-Jin, even said, “The battery in the Galaxy Note 9 is safer than ever. Users do not have to worry about the batteries anymore.”
Despite this, New York real estate agent Diane Chung’s Note 9 caught fire on 3 September, less than two weeks after the smartphone’s launch.
According to New York Post, Chung felt the phone becoming “extremely hot” while she was in an elevator, stopped using it, and kept it in her bag.
She then allegedly heard “a whistling and screeching sound”, and noticed “thick smoke” emerging from her bag.
Chung told the Queens Supreme Court that she had burned her fingers in the attempt to remove the smoking phone from her bag, then dropped it on the elevator floor.
She also said the smoke coming from the Note 9 was so thick that it was difficult to see the elevator buttons she was frantically pressing.
After the lift doors opened, Chung kicked the phone out, which continued burning until someone picked it up with a cloth and put it in a bucket of water.
Restraining Order Against Sales Of The Phone
While she is so far the only user to have experienced this with the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, Chung said that it was “traumatic” and is suing Samsung.
As the burning phone allegedly destroyed all the contents of her bag, she has filed for unspecified damages.
On top of that, she also filed for a restraining order that could bar the sales of the Galaxy Note 9 altogether.
A Samsung spokesperson said they have not received any similar reports, and the company is currently investigating the matter.
Is the Galaxy Note 9 Samsung’s next phone to go down in flames?
Featured Image Credit: Android Authority
