Reports that Samsung Electronics Co has suspended the production of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones probably won't affect its suppliers too much, but the electronics giant should roll out other high-quality products to retain customers, experts said on Monday.
The comment came after South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported that Samsung has temporarily suspended the production of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones.
Samsung is "temporarily" adjusting the production schedule of Galaxy Note 7 phones to guarantee their quality and safety, the Associated Press reported Monday.
Samsung was not available for comment as of press time.
However, a supplier of batteries for Galaxy Note 7 smartphones told the Global Times Monday that his company is unlikely to be affected.
"I think the reported move will not affect our business too much, as 90 percent of the smartphones in China as well as drones and other electronic sports products use our batteries," said a source at Hong Kong-based Amperex Technology, who asked for anonymity.
Amperex provides most of the batteries for Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 smartphones sold in the Chinese mainland, media reports said.
Samsung's move will have little influence on its suppliers because they can sell to other smartphone makers, Fu Liang, a Beijing-based independent technology expert, told the Global Times on Monday.
However, the event surrounding the fire-prone phones has seriously shaken Samsung's place in the global smartphone market, Fu noted.
According to a poll conducted by data services provider Penguin Intelligence with Tencent, 70 percent of nearly 20,000 respondents said they wouldn't buy Samsung's phones and 87.4 percent of them said they use other brands of phones, domestic news portal bjnews.com.cn reported on Saturday.
"Samsung had better roll out a new series of high-quality smartphones to retain its users. In addition, the tech giant should strengthen the marketing of its other phone series to divert attention from its flagship Note 7 phones," Fu said.
On September 2, Samsung announced plans to recall 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones because of safety risks. It later conducted a program to exchange Note 7s to other series such as the Galaxy S7, according to statements on the company's website.
However, the replacements had similar problems, Reuters reported, noting a case in which one phone emitted smoke inside a Southwest Airlines flight in the U.S.
U.S. mobile carrier AT&T said Sunday it will stop exchanging Note 7 phones due to reports of problems caused by the replacement devices.
Another U.S. carrier, T-Mobile, announced it would temporarily suspend sales and exchanges of the Note 7, The Guardian reported Monday.
Samsung shares fell 1.52 percent on Monday.
