Samsung Electronics Co. will supply more than 400,000 new Galaxy Note 7 phablets to local stores to replace those suspected of having a battery problem, a company official said Wednesday.
On Monday, about 100,000 new devices will be made available in stores, after which Samsung will supply an additional 50,000-60,000 replacement phablets each day, delivering all of them by Sept. 25, the official said on the condition of anonymity.
“We plan to provide replacements to cover nearly all of the initial volume within the first week,” the official said.
Samsung has been in talks with regulators and telecom officials in every country to settle on a way to distinguish between the old and new devices.
In South Korea, the new phablets will have green battery indicators whereas the original ones were white.
The world’s largest smartphone maker launched the replacement program after some of the new Note 7s reportedly caught fire while recharging. Samsung blamed faulty batteries for the mishap.