Samsung Electronics Co. on Monday will announce the results of a three-month investigation on the cause of overheating and explosion in Galaxy Note7 in hopes to assure consumers around the world that the world’s top smartphone maker has combated safety problem for future devices starting with the next Galaxy S series.

Sources say the company is expected to blame battery for the cause of the phone catching fire while charging during the morning press conference in Seoul headquarters led by Koh Dong-jin, president of the mobile communications business.

At the last press conference in late September to announce global recall upon early reports of fire-prone phones, Samsung had laid the blame on the battery. Sister company Samsung SDI Co. supplied more than 60 percent of the batteries powering Galaxy Note7 and the rest by China’s Amperex Technology Ltd. (ATL). The batteries in replacement phones that also reported of catching fire were primarily provided by ATL. Samsung Electronics since then stopped and discontinued the phone.

Samsung Electronics has been trying to identify the cause of the combustion in the Galaxy Note7 with multiple domestic and overseas agencies including U.S. safety consulting and certification company UL and Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL).

Industry experts also suspect hardware design with too many functions and chips crammed into a phone without a mechanism to release heat from overworking.

If Samsung cannot persuade industry experts and consumers with its findings on the cause of the fire, its reputation as the top smartphone maker could be seriously challenged in the premium league where competition has intensified due to fast advances by Chinese makers if safety concerns linger and also cannot ensure the success of the next Galaxy S8 series due to be out within the first quarter.

By Lee Dong-in

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]