Samsung Electronics announced that it may offer a refurbished version of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. In an announcement of how it plans to recycle the recalled phone, Samsung said it's consulting with regulatory authorities and carriers and assessing local demand for offering refurbished or rental Note 7 phones. Release dates and markets will be announced later.
Note 7s that can't be resold will be salvaged for components such as semiconductors and camera modules and any precious metals extracted for re-use. Samsung also said that as part of a commitment to recycling, the company plans to join the EU’s R&D and test efforts to develop new eco-friendly processing methods.
The Galaxy Note 7 was recalled last September, barely a month after its initial unveiling, due to problems with the battery overheating in some models. After an investigation, Samsung said in a January that the problems were due to damaged or incorrectly placed elements of the batteries. The company did not say how it plans to resolve the battery issue in the refurbished models.
