Samsung apologizes, claims Note 7 sold in China safe

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd apologized to Chinese consumers for failing to provide a detailed explanation over the safety of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones on sale in China after more reports of fires involving the product.

Samsung said in a statement that the smartphones sent for customers in China use batteries from a different supplier, compared with the smartphones recalled at overseas market, and they can ensure the safety of these products that have passed testing and certification and analysis of the independent third-party research institute.

At present, the new Note 7 products that have been swapped at overseas markets are using the same battery supplier to those that are used for the Chinese version, Samsung said.

Samsung said it pays a lot of attention to the Chinese market and would never adopt dual standards on this issue. It attaches great importance to reports of Note 7 fires in China, and has worked with battery supplier and third-party testing institution to conduct comprehensive inspection on those devices.

The testing result showed no sign of burning or damage inside the battery, and determined that the external heating damaged the phones, according to Samsung.

The company has begun a limited recall of the phones that affects 1,858 smartphones provided in July and August on a trial basis before the phone's official launch on Sept 1 in China.

Samsung said as these 1,858 phones use the similar batteries with those previously sold in the United States and South Korea, they have potential risks. Samsung said it has recalled most of the testing phones and was communicating with users for the rest phones.