5 lessons to be learnt from Samsung's Note 7 fiasco

Samsung Electronics Limited has been in the smartphone industry since forever. The South Korean tech giant released its first mobile phone SH 100 back in 1988. Since then it has been manufacturing devices on a streak. The company's experience and almost consistent performance led to a trustworthy brand name which a lot of people were comfortable with.

The recent explosions with the Note 7 has demolished Samsung's trustworthy image like a house of cards on fire. But where did Samsung go wrong with the Note 7 and was it too late to pull the plug on the device's production? There is no confirmation regarding the concrete reason behind this debacle for Samsung.

Initially, the company had categorically blamed it on a certain "battery cell issue", but as it turned out even Samsung had no clue as to what was the exact reason behind the explosions. While it seemed like Samsung was finally getting a hold on the issue a few more Note 7s exploded, but this time it was different.

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The explosion of five "safe" Note 7s was the last nail in the device's coffin. Samsung was forced to pull the plug on the Note 7. The company claims to be conducting a 'thorough investigation" but it seems highly unlikely that the results will yield any immediate relief to their stooping sales graph. 

1. No device is safe from explosions
There have been numerous reports of exploding smartphones in the past and though none recieved as much attention as the Note 7, most of them were dangerous. In fact, every device that uses a lithium ion battery is susceptible to explosions.

One of the reasons why smartphones became a huge hit was because of its lasting standby time without occupying much space. This was a result of densely packed batteries which was a revolutionary change in the technology but also meant a higher risk of short circuit. Every smartphone you hold these days are powered by these batteries.

Though the chances of explosions are extremely rare, even a slight fault in design can cause an explosion. 

2. Expensive doesn't mean safe
Samsung Galaxy line-up has long dominated the premium segment in the Android sphere. After the launch of Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, the devices have even eaten into Apple sales due to their exceptional built-quality but that doesn't mean that they were any safer compared to the cheaper smartphones.

On the contrary, most flagships represent the company's latest technology which is also the least tested, in terms of real user experience. These flagships constantly push the ceiling with the new technology. Battery technology in particular, hasn't been able to keep up with the evolution of other smartphone components which is why manufacturers are trying to introduce features like quick charge and high density batteries to keep up with the needs.

This in turn results in minor compromises in safety which can very well take the shape of a catastrophe, as in the case of Note 7.

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3. Revised safety regulations
It is clear that the current safety regulations in regard with the smartphones isn't as robust as it needs to be. Most of the countries have their own regulatory bodies to standardize the safety procedures but with the tremendous growth in smartphone technology, these parameters fail to provide a thorough testing of the devices.
Even in the case of smartphone radiations, SAR values have proven to be inept in analysing real life effects and variations. Most tests happens with the assumption of no direct skin-contact with the device. The FCC itself claims that any smarphone that will be tested for radiations when in direct contact with human skin will fail the standard tests.

4. Battery technology needs special amends
As mentioned above, battery technology is runt of the litter when it comes to smartphone technology.  Power is critical for every electronic device and the most potent technology currently available, for power storage, was developed in 1991. The lithium-ion batteries that power your smartphones have been nearly the same since its inception.

Though the battery industry has grown substantially, with almost 5-10 per cent of growth every year, there has been no breakthrough to keep up with the growing demand of power.

According to Moore's law, named after Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel, the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles every two years. The computational power Moore talked about is what is driving the smartphone technology. Every year, processors trump the previous versions by almost 30-40 per cent in computing power.

The surge in processing power yields more functionality to the devices but the battery technology fails to power these chipsets.

With every smarter-phone comes a demand of a heavier processor, bigger and highly pixel-dense screen and yet thinner profiles. The current lithium-ion technology is just capable of maintaining the same amount of power back-up. No matter how expensive the smartphone is, most users are forced to scavenge for power by the end of the day.

5. The smartphone race needs to slow down
Every year, since the advent of the first smartphone, a launch event is followed by a flurry of reviews. Even before the smartphone hits the market, a consumer is ready with their respective opinion on the device.

 Note 7, iPhone 7 and now the Google Pixel are great examples of the consumer-psyche where devices are being pre-booked without being tested in real life scenarios. By the time a device is tested thoroughly, it's almost time for the user to jump to the next big smartphone.

The short life-cycles of devices and yet heavy demand by consumers has made the smartphone industry one of the most profitable ventures in the world. Manufacturers need to pay heed to safety regulations as much as the availability of the devices.  

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