Samsung Galaxy Note 7: Refurbished Units To Be Released in June?
Samsung has earlier announced that they will release refurbished Galaxy Note 7 phablets out of the recalled units last year, and they are recently rumored to arrive in June.
According to South Korean news outlet ET News, at least three carriers in their country are going to sell the refurbished Galaxy Note 7 units in late June. Out of the three million to four million recalled units from last year, Samsung will sell about 300,000 refurbished phablets.
One major change in the refurbished devices, as expected, are its battery packs. Instead of using the same 3,500-milliampere hour battery, Samsung reportedly decided to downgrade it to 3,200 mAh.
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ET News also reported that Samsung is still in negotiations for the final price of the product but it is believed to cost 700,000 South Korean won or about $614. If the figure is accurate, then the refurbished version of the Galaxy Note 7 is priced about 200,000 won to 300,000 won ($175-$263) less than its predecessor's launch price when it was made available last year.
The same report noted that it would be a good move for Samsung to launch the refurbished Galaxy Note 7 in June since that month to August is considered an off-peak season in terms of smartphone sales and demands, while its successor, the Note 8, is unlikely to launch until August or September.
Though the reported June release needs official confirmation, it can be recalled that Samsung has already confirmed that manufacturing a refurbished Galaxy Note 7 is part of their plan to "recycle" the millions of recalled units "in an environmentally-friendly manner."
In a statement released last month, the company will devise three processes to deal with the recalled units while also caring for the environment.
Samsung explained: "First, devices shall be considered to be used as refurbished phones or rental phones where applicable. Second, salvageable components shall be detached for reuse. Third, processes such as metals extraction shall be performed using environmentally friendly methods."
Whether refurbished Galaxy Note 7 phablets will make its way to other regions of the world is yet to be known.
