Samsung may bring the Note 7 back from the dead to sell refurbished units

The Galaxy Note 7 saga continues as Samsung is purportedly considering putting its now-discontinued flagship handset back on the market.

The electronics behemoth could begin selling refurbished units with smaller, less volatile batteries, according to South Korean outlet Hankyung. While it remains highly unlikely the device would make a comeback to US and European markets following ban regulations, it could retail in India and Vietnam.

Earlier in January, the phone-maker released the findings from its detailed internal Note 7 investigation, blaming the series of explosions on two separate battery-related issues.

Engadget remarks the South Korean heavyweight has approximately 2.5 million Note 7 handsets in store after sacrificing 20,000 to determine the cause of the problem. Refurbished units will pack batteries with a capacity between 3,000 and 3,200 mAh – compared to the 3,500 mAh battery the first batch arrived with.

Last month, Reuters speculated refurbished Note 7 units could indeed be coming back to market; this report merely adds further credence to such claims.

While the report makes no mention when refurbished handsets might start shipping, chances are the release will be delayed till after Samsung unveils its upcoming Galaxy S8 handset in the coming few months.

Given that Samsung ran full-page apology ads in three well-known newspapers in the US last year, the move towards selling refurbished Note 7 units seems like a double-edged sword: While the device got stellar reviews across the media, it cost the company millions in damages.

So don’t be too surprised if this plan never pans out.

via Engadget