A new report has revealed that Samsung is planning to sell refurbished Galaxy Note 7 handsets in emerging markets as early as June this year.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 was arguably the single biggest product disaster to have struck the company in recent times, but when the going gets tough, the tough gets going.
According to a new report from The Korea Economic Daily, Samsung is planning to sell refurbished Galaxy Note 7 units (using devices and parts obtained from unsold and returned devices) in emerging markets such as Vietnam and India.
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The news comes after Samsung determined that the Note 7’s batteries were the sole cause of its temperamental (and in the worst cases, explosive) nature, and that the remaining components within the device were safe to use.
As such, it is reported that refurbished Galaxy Note 7 units sold in emerging markets could contain a smaller 3,000 or 3,200 mAh battery as opposed to the 3,500 mAh unit the device carried upon launch.
Unfortunately, we might not recognize a refurbished Galaxy Note 7 by looks alone; the Korea Economic Daily cites that handsets which arrive in either India or Vietnam might contain a new external casing. A pity, considering that we felt the original device had an appealing design.
While it remains unclear as to what guise refurbished Note devices might take when they eventually arrive in storefronts, the idea is an inspiring one; by selling refurbished devices, Samsung can not only sell cost-effective flagship-grade phones at an attractive price to emerging markets, but can further avoid the environmental calamity of destroying errant Note devices in a safe manner.
Read: Well, Samsung’s battery plant just caught fire as well
What are your thoughts? How else could Samsung make the most of an unfortunate situation? Be sure to let us know your opinion in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
