Other phone producers, suppliers distance themselves from problem
The consumers association of Shenzhen on Wednesday asked -Samsung Electronics Co why it had made a distinction between the Chinese mainland and other markets in terms of recalling Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, which have potential safety hazards.
The question came shortly after Samsung issued a statement claiming that the recent Note 7 explosions reported by several Chinese consumers were caused by external forces.
Experts said on Wednesday that third-party inspection institutions must step in soon to reveal the truth about the smartphone.
According to the association, -Samsung recalled a limited number of Note 7 smartphones in the mainland market only after the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine held talks with the company, but it recalled all the Note 7 phones in markets like South Korea, the US and Europe after it found the batteries of the Note 7 phones were unsafe.
A person close to the matter told the Global Times on Wednesday on condition of anonymity that since the batteries of the Note 7 models sold in China are not flawed, there's no need to recall the smartphones.
According to media reports, most of the batteries for Galaxy Note 7 phones sold in China are provided by Hong Kong-based Amperex Technology, while the batteries of Note 7 phones sold in other markets were mostly supplied by Samsung SDI, a subsidiary of Samsung.
However, the safety of Amperex-produced batteries was also called into question after two mainland Note 7 customers claimed on social media on Sunday that their phones had exploded.
Both of them bought the phones from domestic e-commerce website jd.com.
The customers didn't reply to interview requests from the Global Times as of press time.
Samsung replied to the complaints in a Monday statement, saying that their quality inspection department found that the Note 7 phone explosions were caused by external forces.
Amperex also stated on the same day that the explosions had nothing to do with batteries.
Pan Ming, a public relations representative of Samsung, told the Global Times on Wednesday that so far everything that can be said is contained in the statement.
"There's no update on the issue on Samsung's part," Pan said.
A Shanghai resident, who only gave her surname as Dai, said that she had bought a Note 7 recently.
"My Note 7 was fine but after what I heard about the explosions, I did not dare to use it anymore," Dai said.
"I think Samsung's explanation about the cause of the explosions is not clear enough," she noted.
The consumers association of Shenzhen also asked Samsung to explain the true reasons for the explosions before the end of this month.
Zhou Weiwei, a public relations representative from jd.com, said that sales of the Note 7 phones have remained "normal" in the wake of the explosion news.
Zhou stressed that jd.com hadn't removed the Note 7 phones from its shelves like some media reported.
"They just sold out fast," Zhou told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Other phone producers, including Huawei Technologies Co and some of Samsung's suppliers, have all issued announcements saying they are not connected with the explosions.
Huawei issued a statement on Tuesday saying that it had no connection with the explosions. Rumors have circulated that the explosions were some type of "plot" made by Huawei against its competitor.
With market conjecture raging, third-party inspection institutions should step in to reveal the truth about why the phones exploded, Wang -Yanhui, the secretary-general of the Mobile China Alliance, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
"If it turns out that the explosions were indeed caused by battery flaws, that will be a big blow for Samsung and cause its reputation to suffer greatly," Wang said.
Samsung's business rebounded around the end of 2015, at least on the global level, but in China its business is still weak due to strong competition in the market, Wang noted.
Samsung's market share in China had dropped to 8 percent by the end of June in terms of shipments, down from 9 percent in the corresponding period in 2015, according to a report from yicai.com on Tuesday.
Some domestic and overseas airlines, such as Spring Airlines and Singapore Airlines, have banned the use of Note 7 smartphones on their flights, according to media reports.
Pan from Samsung didn't reply to an inquiry about whether such bans have had an influence on the company's business, nor did he disclose how the explosions have affected the Note 7's sales in China.
