The tech giant Samsung has warned owners of the Galaxy Note 7 to turn off their phone to stop the device from catching fire. The company will also stop selling the flagship phone. The device, launched in August, was a rival to Apple's iPhone. Engineers must now investigate why so many phones caught fire. Samsung was already hit by a recall of 2.5 million phones in September. Then, many phones burst into flames after their batteries exploded. This new episode further damages the company's image as Samsung said the recently-exploding phones were safe.
Analysts are now guessing how much this trouble will cost Samsung. South Korean media says the company will no longer produce the phone. South Korea's finance minister Yoo Il-ho warned that the country's exports would be damaged by this. He said: "Right now we can't tell what the impact will be in the long term. It's up to the company and the government cannot interfere." The Korea Times said: "It is urgent that the company recover its brand image and the only way to do this is to place quality and customer satisfaction above anything else."
