三星電子（Samsung Electronics）在10月4日宣布，停止生產Galaxy Note 7智能手機，這離他們停止這款手機在全球的銷售還不足24小時。

路透社（Reuters）報道稱，這家韓國公司在向首爾證券交易所提交的文件中表示：“（我們）把消費者的人身安全放在第一位，故決定停止Galaxy Note 7的生產和銷售。”（Note 7本質上是Galaxy S7的大屏版本，后者并未遭遇困擾Note 7的問題。）

為什么這款流行的智能手機發布僅不到兩個月，三星就宣布了它的停產呢？讓我們簡單回顧一下過程：

8月19日，Note 7發布

8月19日，三星最新款的大屏手寫筆安卓手機正式發布。《時代》（Time）雜志對它的評價是“相比前一代機型有著微小而令人歡迎的改進，擁有更符合人體工程學的設計，強化了手寫筆的功能，搭載了與兄弟機型Galaxy S7一樣的攝像頭，對一些軟件進行了微調”，并給了它4.5星（滿星為5星）的評價。（召回事件之后，我們取消了對它的推薦）。它的售價約為每月30美元，若是一次性付款，則要超過800美元，這取決于無線運營商。

手機著火的消息開始擴散

Note 7著火的消息開始擴散。Galaxy Note 7電池過熱的報告在美國出現了92例，其中26例造成了手機燃燒，55例造成了財產損失。佛羅里達州的一位男士表示，他在SUV內給Galaxy Note 7充電，結果手機突然燃燒，導致車內著火。

旅客運輸的全球三大運營商——美國航空（American Airlines）、達美航空（Delta Air Lines）和聯合航空（United Airlines）表示，已經安排了員工在機艙門口和機內告知旅客讓Note 7保持關閉狀態，直到他們下飛機為止。

召回手機，進行調換

9月初，三星停止了Note 7的銷售。美國消費產品安全委員會（The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission）警告用戶關掉這些手機，不要再使用它們。在9月15日之前，委員會還自發組織了手機的召回。

三星在全球10個市場一共召回了250萬部Note 7手機，其中光在美國就召回了100萬部。超過50萬部新手機被運至美國的運營商和零售店，供用戶進行調換。

三星還為Note 7提供了軟件更新，幫助用戶辨別自己的手機是否屬于召回之列。軟件會在手機的狀態欄顯示綠色的電池標志，表明這個手機是否是受到影響的那一批。

《華盛頓日報》報道，在美國和韓國，有60%受影響的手機都已經得到了調換，90%的消費者選擇用新的Galaxy Note 7替換問題手機，而不是退款，或是更換其他型號的產品。

三星市值跳水

三星的市值開始跳水，9月12日，公司股價達到了兩個月以來的最低值。由于全球各地的監管方和航空公司發出了一系列警告，投資者對該手機的前景表現出擔憂，導致這家韓國公司的市值縮水了15.9萬億韓元（合143億美元）。

IBK Securities的分析師李升茂表示：“一些人本預測Galaxy Note 7將成為最優秀的智能手機，但是現在，它可能會成為最糟糕的那一款。”他預計Note 7將在今年第四季度銷售疲軟。

分析師表示，召回事件將對這家市值2,110億美元的公司的品牌形象產生長期的負面影響，這會阻止他們從蘋果（Apple）等競爭對手處搶回市場占有率。有人預計，算上召回成本，三星這次的收入損失可能高達50億美元。

有報道指出，替換的手機仍然會著火

有新報道指出，替換的手機和原來的手機一樣會著火，因此自10月9日起，三星停止了替換召回的Note 7。

一周之前，在西南航空（Southwest Airlines）的一架航班上，由于Note 7在關閉之后仍然冒煙，并發出爆音，乘客被緊急疏散。與此同時，《華盛頓日報》報道稱，加利福尼亞州的兩名用戶反映，他們替換后的Galaxy Note 7變得很燙。

三星在一份聲明中對《華盛頓日報》表示，“溫度起伏”可能會出現，但不會有安全風險，盡管公司也稱正在聯系消費者，解決替換手機后出現的這些個案。

Business Insider報道稱，移動運營商T-Mobile、AT&T和威瑞森（Verizon）已經停止了銷售和調換Note 7手機。AT&T在一份聲明中表示：“我們暫時不再提供Note 7的調換服務，直到這些事件得到了進一步的調查為止。”不過消費者還可以選擇替換其他型號的手機。

三星宣布停止生產Galaxy Note 7

在本周二提交的監管文件中，三星宣布了停產的最后決定，“為了把消費者的人身安全放在第一位。”這可能是科技史上代價最高昂的一次產品安全故障。（財富中文網）

譯者：嚴匡正

Samsung Electronics announced Tuesday that it’sstopping production of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, less than 24 hours after halting global sales of the device.

“(We) have decided to halt production and sales of the Galaxy Note 7 in order to consider our consumers’ safety first and foremost,” the South Korean firm wrote in a filing to the Seoul stock exchange, Reuters reports. (The Note 7 is essentially the larger version of the Galaxy S7, which hasn’t been affected by the problems plaguing the Note 7.)

But why is Samsung ending production of its popular smartphone less than two months after it launched? Here’s a brief recap:

The Note 7 launches on Aug. 19

The latest of Samsung’s large-screened, stylus-toting Android smartphones launches on August 19. TIMEdescribes it as “a modest but welcome improvement over its predecessor, offering a more ergonomic design, an enhanced stylus, the same camera as its Galaxy S7 cousin, and some software tweaks” and awards it 4.5 out of 5 stars. (We have since rescinded our recommendation in light of the recall.) It costs around $30 per month, or more than $800 without a payment plan, depending on the wireless carrier.

Reports begin circulation about devices catching fire

Tales of Note 7 devices catching fire begin to spread. Samsung receives 92 reports of batteries overheating in Galaxy Note 7 phones in the U.S.; it says there were 26 reports of burns and 55 reports of property damage. Aman in Florida says his vehicle caught fire when the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone charging inside his SUV burst into flames.

The world’s three largest carriers by passenger traffic—American Airlines , Delta Air Lines DAL , and United Airlines UAL —say that employees will tell passengers at the gate and on board aircraft to keep the Note 7 switched off until they deplane.

Phones recalled and replacements shipped

In early Sept., Samsung stops selling the Note 7. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warns users to power down their devices and stop using them. It also issues a voluntary recall of devicessold before Sept. 15.

In total, Samsung recalls 2.5 million of the new Notes across 10 worldwide markets, including one million in the U.S. More than 500,000 replacement units of the device are shipped to carrier and retail stores in the U.S.

A software update is also launched for the Note 7 to help owners distinguish whether or not their smartphone is included in the recall. The software displays a green battery icon in the phone’s status bar to indicate whether or not the phone has been affected.

The Journal reports that about 60% of the affected Notes in the U.S. and Korea have been replaced, with about 90% of customers choosing to replace the faulty phone with a new Galaxy Note 7 rather than get a refund or trade it in for a different type of phone.

Samsung’s market value drops

Samsung’s market value begins to plummet as shares fall to their lowest level in nearly two months on Sept. 12. Investors wipe 15.9 trillion won ($14.3 billion) off the South Korean firm’s market capitalization as a series of warnings from regulators and airlines around the world raised fears for the future of the device.

“Some said initially the Galaxy Note 7 could be the best smartphone ever, but now it’s possible the phone will go down as the worst ever,” IBK Securities analyst Lee Seung-woo says, predicting weak sales in the fourth quarter.

Analysts say the recall could have a lasting impact on the $211 billion company’s brand image, which could derail a recovery in its smartphone market share against rivals like Apple Inc. Some estimate the firm might lose $5 billion won worth of revenue after accounting for recall costs.

New reports suggest replacement phones are also catching fire

On Oct. 9, Samsung stops exchanging recalled Note 7 devices due to reports of replacement phones catching fire, just as the original phones did.

The week before, a Southwest Airlines flight is evacuated because of a phone that is smoking and making “popping” noises after it is turned off. Meanwhile, the Journal cites two users in California who each received a replacement Galaxy Note 7 only to discover that they became very hot.

In a statement, Samsung tells the Journal that “temperature fluctuations” could occur and weren’t a safety risk, although it did say it was resolving individual cases with customers who had issues with their replacement devices.

Mobile providers T-Mobile , AT&T , and Verizon halt sales and exchanges, Business Insider reports. “We’re no longer exchanging new Note 7s at this time, pending further investigation of these reported incidents,” AT&T says in a statement. Instead, customers are allowed to exchange the phones for a different model.

Samsung announces it has stopped production of the Galaxy Note 7

In a regulatory filing Tuesday, Samsung announces that it has made a final decision to stop production “in order to consider . . . consumers’ safety first and foremost”. It could be one of the costliest product safety failures in the history of technology.