Samsung Gimps Defective Note 7 Batteries to 60%

After a series of Galaxy Note 7 explosions, Samsung was faced with a tough recall. Since starting the recall of over 2.5 million defective phones, the South Korean firm has been faced with stubborn owners unwilling to turn in their devices. To ensure that no more harm is caused and to encourage the laggards to comply, Samsung is planning to gimp the Note 7 batteries in said devices. This OTA update will reduce the battery capacity to 60%.

Starting on September 20, South Koreans will start receiving the update with others to follow pending talks with carriers. The hope is that the reduced battery capacity will be annoying enough to compel owners to give up their devices for a new one. Furthermore, the battery defect is caused by a short so the less energy in the battery at the time, the less damaging the short will be. Part

Part of the problem is that fixed replacement devices aren’t coming in fast enough. This has meant users may be reluctant to go without a device until Samsung get the new unit to them. With the reliance we place on our smartphones, it’s not surprising some don’t want to give them up just yet. There’s also the issue of having to port data over though that process is easier than ever before.

Still, given the damage that some of the shorted Galaxy Note 7s have caused, it hard to see a compelling case to keep using a known defective unit. Hopefully, there will be no more incidents of injury or damage until this whole incident is resolved.