Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 was a major black mark in its otherwise shiny record, and after the global recall there was much speculation that the company would sell refurbished versions of the smartphones without the faulty batteries. Samsung has denied this several times in the past, before finally admitting its plans to do so last month. Now, a new report tips the first refurbished Galaxy Note 7 units will be made available from this June.
As per a report by South Korean publication ET News, picked up by SamMobile, the first refurbished Samsung Galaxy Note 7 units will be launched via three carriers in South Korea in June.
The report adds that 300,000 of the total 3-4 million recalled units will be made available in South Korea, and the refurbished Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will sport a 3200mAh battery instead of the 3500mAh battery of the original. Said to be called the Galaxy Note 7 R (SM-935), the smartphone will reportedly be priced at KRW 700,000 (roughly Rs. 39,700), which nearly KRW 300,000 (roughly Rs. 17,000) less than the original.
To recall, Samsung had back in March confirmed it was looking to sell refurbished Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, attributing part of its decision to the need to reduce the environmental impact of the 4 million smartphone recall. Of course, Samsung would benefit financially from the decision, recovering some of the Galaxy Note 7's costs that would otherwise have been written down.
Will the refurbished Samsung Galaxy Note 7 be coming to India, you wonder. Following reports of a refurbished Galaxy Note 7 launch in February, Samsung India had denied plans to bring any such unit in India. As Samsung has since then changed its mind about the entire refurbishment strategy, it may very well bring the smartphone to India - we'll have to wait and see.
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